tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360659332017-12-10T23:12:00.676-04:00Reflective Practicefamily and community literacy
<br>adult basic educationWendell Drydennoreply@blogger.comBlogger410125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-82307711585018380162017-01-26T19:57:00.001-04:002017-01-26T19:57:28.016-04:00Books, Books, Wonderful Books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XrI6lDAMux4/WIqLFtnjyAI/AAAAAAAAJVs/10JM003j4kI1PSOJyytTs7tHMnrv3rZIACLcB/s1600/goodbooks1July2007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XrI6lDAMux4/WIqLFtnjyAI/AAAAAAAAJVs/10JM003j4kI1PSOJyytTs7tHMnrv3rZIACLcB/s320/goodbooks1July2007.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JGQdnMI20g0/WIqLFmB_e6I/AAAAAAAAJVo/uOSl9G-d0KoypByhTFeTf7fIhYnri_MRgCLcB/s1600/goodbooks3July2007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JGQdnMI20g0/WIqLFmB_e6I/AAAAAAAAJVo/uOSl9G-d0KoypByhTFeTf7fIhYnri_MRgCLcB/s320/goodbooks3July2007.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br />Because someone asked (and we haven't finished a proper book document yet), here are two, similar guided reading list and a paper.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RGRiZhxfFbE/WIqLMzfhjEI/AAAAAAAAJV0/HEmrCGWXPN80a5sNtNodt0Eni3JgNkK3ACLcB/s1600/goodbooks5July2007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RGRiZhxfFbE/WIqLMzfhjEI/AAAAAAAAJV0/HEmrCGWXPN80a5sNtNodt0Eni3JgNkK3ACLcB/s320/goodbooks5July2007.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Missing are our newest favourite read-with-kids books, the Elephant (Gerald) and Piggy series by Mo Williams.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kIwXspzRgLY/WIqMwpr-IkI/AAAAAAAAJWQ/hAorSy_ZOX828Qov0vVyYByslCbcC36_wCLcB/s1600/81I0Q22MwhL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kIwXspzRgLY/WIqMwpr-IkI/AAAAAAAAJWQ/hAorSy_ZOX828Qov0vVyYByslCbcC36_wCLcB/s400/81I0Q22MwhL.jpg" width="372" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3ukzEcWAMNoUXAxQi1XUWdMMjQ/view?usp=sharing"><br /></a><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3ukzEcWAMNoUXAxQi1XUWdMMjQ/view?usp=sharing">A 2009 List</a><br /><br /><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3ukzEcWAMNobmFNU0RGWGM0VW8/view?usp=sharing">A 2015 List</a><br /><br /><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3ukzEcWAMNodVVXQTNRTndnclE/view?usp=sharing">Board Books to use with Preschoolers and Their Families (2013)</a><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lFIPvkVADwY/WIqMM3UeeFI/AAAAAAAAJWI/Dgnj0RRvuMMnBYkcrQhUSSltGfGm6j1mQCLcB/s1600/IMG_3315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lFIPvkVADwY/WIqMM3UeeFI/AAAAAAAAJWI/Dgnj0RRvuMMnBYkcrQhUSSltGfGm6j1mQCLcB/s320/IMG_3315.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-72646384606186561612016-07-21T10:54:00.000-03:002016-07-30T17:37:38.589-03:00The schedule says Reading but really means Listening and Obeying<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vgc1iM-h5qM/V5DH2S5IyZI/AAAAAAAAIgs/fX28xfn-0gAErhMk5QmFk02bCeRrURYxgCLcB/s1600/classroom-clip-art-7TaG8qBTA.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vgc1iM-h5qM/V5DH2S5IyZI/AAAAAAAAIgs/fX28xfn-0gAErhMk5QmFk02bCeRrURYxgCLcB/s320/classroom-clip-art-7TaG8qBTA.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Clipart Panda: Circle Time</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"No, no. I'm not reading the next page until every single one of you is sitting quietly with folded hands. I'm waiting. I'm still waiting."<br /><div style="text-align: right;">- &nbsp;<i>the kind of person who thinks its okay</i></div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>to keep a bird in a cage and is still</i></div><div style="text-align: right;"><i>allowed to work with children</i></div></blockquote><b>A Joke</b><br /><br />Kid One: What's the difference between 'circle time' and 'jail time'?<br />Kid Two: I don't know. What?<br />Kid One: I don't know either.<br /><br /><br />I think, even before I knew better, I always hated circle time. I also think I will never again be invited to work in the field of organized early childhood education. Sure, okay, whatever.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oz6_TNeMdJo/V5DGuvvQh2I/AAAAAAAAIgo/G18khAG1CbIW8bK6vRDQnRh1UunFpQtYwCKgB/s1600/13775837_1040073532713132_4050599892372735724_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oz6_TNeMdJo/V5DGuvvQh2I/AAAAAAAAIgo/G18khAG1CbIW8bK6vRDQnRh1UunFpQtYwCKgB/s400/13775837_1040073532713132_4050599892372735724_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />The other day we were doing our weekly gig at a community library's children's corner. My co-worker was prepping to read about pirates, and I was vaguely sorting out SRC paperwork so I could up-date kids' numbers of books read. A boy asked if we could get the plastic chess set down from the tallest shelf. Sure, okay, whatever. But they were called out for sitting down to play where we were going to read; called out with that particular tone that shows up when one adult thinks another adult is going to complain about what <i>their</i> kids are doing <i>now</i>. The kids complained back (good for them) and were forbidden to play chess at all. <i>Christ.</i> I swept my papers to one half of the little cafe-style table I was sitting at and told them to set up their game there. Nobody yelled at me (I'm an old man) and the game proceeded, in a rickety sort of way, as the reading commenced. Pretty soon, the corner was full of the sort of talky-touchy happy kid chaos that tends to stress out big people, but&nbsp;is entirely familiar to us at this point - we having spent hundreds of hours reading <strike>to</strike> with free-range kids who have no etiquette whatsoever beyond insisting that every single other kid take off their shoes. In a few minutes, all seventeen kids, piled atop each other, seemed to have a book in their hands. Some were fanning themselves, some paging or reading, some building short-lived tent-shaped towers. A book with big googly eyes glued in it was passed or snatched from hand to hand. One tiny kid looked through an ancient, pictureless tome bigger that her head (I think it was a dictionary) until, unaccountably, she was told to return it to the shelves. An older boy asked for the "apple, orange, bear, pear" board book<b><span style="color: #274e13;">*</span></b><b><span style="color: #274e13;">*</span></b>&nbsp;and worked hard with finger and pictures to decode the text; read and re-read and built fluency and rhythm. You can do that sort of intimate reading and personal discovery in the privacy of a noisy crowd. None of this meant they weren't participating in the official reading, though it may have meant the kid beside them couldn't hear or see as much as they wanted. Sure, okay, whatever. At my table the game proceeded in fits and starts. A boy would move a pawn, crane his head around to listen to a page of <i>Pirate Pearl</i>, and turn back to find he'd lost a knight. Such is life. And mostly it's pretty good when you can be yourself and nobody is telling you to sit still or pipe down or stop playing chess or put that book back because the schedule says Reading but it really means Listening and Obeying. To their credit, the other adults didn't really interfere much. They mostly threw up their hands and left us to the bed we'd made. So, the reading and looking and learning and losing at chess continued for about an hour. Parents came to take their kids home. Seventeen became twelve and then just three. Then we went home too, feeling good.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ys5LeFhfPZ8/V5Dl3_qLYGI/AAAAAAAAIhM/_ksYPmEjEHsQZ08iWOfTcjS5tKfzklC_ACLcB/s1600/4472-1-152923b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ys5LeFhfPZ8/V5Dl3_qLYGI/AAAAAAAAIhM/_ksYPmEjEHsQZ08iWOfTcjS5tKfzklC_ACLcB/s320/4472-1-152923b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 2003 storytent</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">*</span></b><b><span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">*</span></b>&nbsp;This one. The publisher says it's for ages 1 to 4.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lNuKMKZfaYE/V5DOplRA4rI/AAAAAAAAIg8/_Qhg1H7s5pomAvYfnEayJVnMsds7QZNBQCLcB/s1600/658592.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lNuKMKZfaYE/V5DOplRA4rI/AAAAAAAAIg8/_Qhg1H7s5pomAvYfnEayJVnMsds7QZNBQCLcB/s200/658592.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />Which brings me to this: we <i>do</i> have Rules for reading time. Way big Rules that we make a real fuss about. One of them is that anybody, of any age or gender, gets to read or have read to them any book they want <i>without editorial comment</i>. We believe that kids know what they can read or can learn to read; and also what they want to have help with, or have read to them. We also believe that nobody learns unless they first feel safe.<br /><br />The following abridgment is from our increasingly outdated Storytent Manual (2006):<br /><br /><blockquote>Any child who enters the tent voluntarily is telling us that they think the storytent holds something of value for them. If we start right away to create a positive relationship, we can discover what that something is. Once we find out what each person wants from the storytent, we can begin to build a scaffold for them. A scaffold is something that lets someone reach higher or further then they can alone.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote>Storytent is a place where people read. It needs to be full of a range of wonderful books about all sorts of things. Children are free to pick any books they want to read or look through on their own. In the Storytent, children's reading is not criticized. We wait to be asked before supplying a word or correcting an error. Also, we would never make negative comments about a choice of book. However, we would tell a child about a book that we thought matched their interest and reading level.</blockquote><blockquote>We do not require children to sit still or silently while we read. If children choose a book that is too long for one sitting, we negotiate: “I’ll read you one chapter of that today. Then you can borrow it, or we can save it and read another chapter next time.”</blockquote><blockquote>In the Storytent program, children decide themselves if they want to learn to read, and when they have become readers. They decide for themselves if they are "good" readers. They decide for themselves if they are happy with a book, with the storytent, or with themselves. In this sense there is no failure, no falling behind the crowd. We believe that this self-monitoring plays an important part in the positive shift in many children's perceptions of themselves as readers.</blockquote><blockquote>Storytents work best when workers are alert to opportunities and show the kind of flexibility necessary for any successful learner-centered, whole language program. Guided reading, reading to, and shared reading often blend into one another in the storytent. Having multiple copies of crowd-pleasers like Munsch favourites <i>Mortimer</i> or <i>Stephanie’s Ponytail</i> allow children to join in or follow along when a worker reads to a group: this is an example of how "reading to" can become "shared reading". Being flexible also provides for moments of direct instruction, as when, one time, a child snuggled into some shared reading of <i>Blue Hat Green Hat</i> suddenly stopped ‘reading’ the pictures and demanded of the worker, “What are all these letters doing on the page?”</blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iXi8mOwk49E/V5DniHUbp5I/AAAAAAAAIhY/yWMdiLqm838TPzorgKo5n60rrYIY41QGACLcB/s1600/4472-1-152923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iXi8mOwk49E/V5DniHUbp5I/AAAAAAAAIhY/yWMdiLqm838TPzorgKo5n60rrYIY41QGACLcB/s320/4472-1-152923.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 2004 storytent</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-28247293019943731502016-07-16T14:06:00.000-03:002016-08-04T14:09:23.125-03:00On making vs having visual aids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-da7N3ge9C1c/V4plHmwgrDI/AAAAAAAAIfg/9_c4HU75lSE1sj_6bhV1_Bqe6FsdKnZPQCLcB/s1600/october%2Brain%2B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="rainy day in city in october" border="0" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-da7N3ge9C1c/V4plHmwgrDI/AAAAAAAAIfg/9_c4HU75lSE1sj_6bhV1_Bqe6FsdKnZPQCLcB/s400/october%2Brain%2B01.jpg" title="rainy day in city in october" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />One rainy day in late October, I decided to make a timeline for my classroom wall.<br /><br />I'd probably tried before; I know I'd been thinking about it for a while. I had - and still have - the idea that effective, long-lasting visual aids are an asset. &nbsp;I guess this is what ties this post into the previous two. I'm writing here about posters and other visual aids - the kind of things we make or get in the mail - and the ways in which they are useful. In any case, I had about 3 metres of free wall space, a ball of &nbsp;twine, markers, and a pack of 4 by 6 cue cards. So, I decided to make a timeline.<br /><br />It was me doing this, you understand. But I remember I needed help. I remember bugging someone who had a calculator when I was trying to figure out some kind of century per centimeter ratio. I tried doing it by hand on the whiteboard, but I kept getting different answers. Later, I conscripted helpers to compare various internet lists of significant events and dates for the last 6000 years. We only had one decent PC hooked to the web, so I printed these lists off, leaving me with too much paper for one man to manage. "What do you have for 1200 BC?" I would ask. Heads would go down, papers shuffle. "Genghas Khan," someone would say. "What? No! BC... BC!" "Upper Pale...lio...." "What?" By the time I was standing on a stool pounding concrete nails into the wall, I noticed pretty much the whole class paying attention; if only with crossed-armed scowls or motherly alarm. When it came time for drawing and colouring symbols and avatars on those 4 by 6 cards, I had lots of volunteers.<br /><br />But that's not the point. The point is, this was something I was doing for my own reasons. (I'd read Herndon.*) If other adults were annoyed or charmed into co-construction - that wasn't my fault, and certainly not my plan.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />The timeline hung there through the remainder of the fall. We made use of it in our class discussions. I pointed out things. They pointed out things. I noticed people squinting at it from their seats as they worked through the big blue GED book. We adjusted it a couple of times when we uncovered errors or changed our minds about what was important. There were on-going debates about whether a full 6000 years was necessary. They said it would have been enough to reach back 500 years, to Christopher Columbus. "We could see more," they argued. "You only care about the GED stuff," I said. "Of course," they said. "Well what about the Vikings?" I retorted. &nbsp;"We can stick a piece of paper on the end," the barbarians replied. "You're all barbarians," I said, "and that would look awful. Do your math!"<br /><br />Then, when we tried to decorate it for Christmas, it fell down. We left it down and put up some garland instead.<br /><br /><br />After Christmas, on a prep day before classes restarted, I climbed my stool and strung the timeline up again. &nbsp;But an odd thing happened.<br /><br />The timeline had become invisible.<br /><br />It wasn't just the new people who didn't see it. (There was always a big turn-over that time of year.) Even people who had helped make it seemed to forget it was there. For that matter, I'm not sure I made much reference to it after that....<br /><br />It was almost as if <i>making</i> the timeline was useful and helpful and engaging; and the echoes of that making lasted for weeks after. &nbsp;But once the echoes died, it seemed like <i>having</i> the timeline was largely irrelevant.<br /><br />When it fell down again, sometime in March, I didn't bother putting it back up.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2BRIW4NQwiE/V4pkAReyXcI/AAAAAAAAIfQ/CCUSBswrcUwW7NrEwMbt7VAN-3b4wehlgCEw/s1600/october%2Brain%2B04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="wendell's classroom timeline" border="0" height="94" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2BRIW4NQwiE/V4pkAReyXcI/AAAAAAAAIfQ/CCUSBswrcUwW7NrEwMbt7VAN-3b4wehlgCEw/s400/october%2Brain%2B04.jpg" title="wendell's classroom timeline" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />Afterword: Why not take it down, wait a few weeks, and then make a new timeline: start the process all over again? Well, I guess, because I'd scratched that itch. I'd made a timeline, and I'd moved on. If a learner wanted to make a timeline, then that would have been fine. I'm good at supporting people. But for me to do it again would have felt phony, forced. The learners would have known - they always know - that I was being inauthentic, and so I wouldn't have been able to draw them in. In fact, despite knowing this, I did try to make a new timeline the next year, thinking it would be a Good Idea and Good for the Class. &nbsp;It was a flop both as an activity and a timeline, and the only thing that echoed was everyone's annoyance, including my own.<br /><br />By the way, you could complain that I've written "I" and "me" and "my" too often in this post. I wouldn't disagree. But that's the sorry truth about how my classes run. I'm willing to accept that others do a better job of being inclusive or facilitating broad participation, co-construction and a sense of learner ownership. With me... &nbsp;<span style="font-size: x-small;">¯\_(ツ)_/¯&nbsp;</span><br /><br />Anyway, my point is that posters and charts and timelines are.... I guess, sometimes they seem like 'living' things, and then they are useful, and sometimes they don't and they're not. Make of it what you will.<br /><br /><br /><br />* James Herndon:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Frank and I showed up at school on Monday feeling great. Were we planning to suggest to the kids in CA <i>How About Making A Film?</i> and hear them say No We Don't Want To, or There's Nothing To Do Around Here... Hell no. It never occurred to us to wonder whether they wanted to make a film at all. We wanted to make a film ourselves and spend the rest of the year doing it....&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Had we wanted to See What The Kids Would Do With Film, we'd have no doubt come up with something more constructive - a film about Attitudes And Relationships or The Question Of Authority and/or Democracy In The Classroom . . . as it was, we really wanted to make a Tarzan film but couldn't quite see how it could be done and settled for The Hawk.&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">... What was the difference between all the grand things we'd thought up for the kids to do and The Hawk? Why, merely that we didn't want to do any of the former ourselves and we did want to do the latter. Why should we have assumed that the kids would want to do a lot of stuff that we didn't want to do?&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="text-align: right;">- &nbsp;<i>How To Survive In Your Native Land</i> (1971) pp.43-44.&nbsp;</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /></div>Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-90067027352868694562016-07-14T00:08:00.000-03:002016-07-14T00:10:24.078-03:00An easy way to make political language harder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BjCzJfKxFJY/V4cAteAqTOI/AAAAAAAAIcQ/c3mblYeb2ac5hgjMJ6Pc1PJfSaAf7lFXACLcB/s1600/Civic%2BLearning%2BDIY%2B02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BjCzJfKxFJY/V4cAteAqTOI/AAAAAAAAIcQ/c3mblYeb2ac5hgjMJ6Pc1PJfSaAf7lFXACLcB/s400/Civic%2BLearning%2BDIY%2B02.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />So what do I do to help my learners get up to speed on political-economy? (I'm following up on the post below.) Well, I can tell you something that I do wrong.<br /><br />Adult learners in my academic or GED preparation classes need to understand, broadly, the differences between capitalism, socialism and communism. They need to know enough about these terms to understand excerpts on the different ways nations organize their economies. They need to understand the way these terms get used, and the baggage the terms carry, in historical excerpts about the conflict in Korea or the Cuban missile crisis. As well, they need to know the associations the terms can carry in the context of political party platforms or campaign literature. In this last case, learners also need to get a grip on related shorthand like 'right,' 'left,' 'conservative,' 'liberal,' 'reformist' and 'revolutionary' (and sometimes 'tory,' 'grit,' 'whig,' and 'red').<br /><br />Usually, in the early going, I talk my way through a three-column diagram like the ones pictured above and below. (By the way, this is likely my first major mistake: I talk instead of listening - but leave that for now.) As you can see, I typically stick capitalism on the left-hand side, communism on the right-hand side, and fit socialism in the middle.... And with that, already, my error is apparent.<br /><br />Surely communism belongs on the left, and capitalism belongs on the right; in accordance with our shorthand way of talking about them (and in accord with how monarchists and anti-monarchists arranged themselves in the French parliament around the time of the revolution, or something... etc., etc.).<br /><br />Well, Wendell, fix it. That's what you're saying.<br /><br />But here's the thing. I have it bred in my bones that because capitalism precedes communism chronologically, I have to put capitalism on the 'starting side'&nbsp;of the board or page or whatever. I would, and do, follow suit when talking about the Creation (left) and the Resurrection (right), or the Big Bang (left) and the Heat Death of the Universe (right), or the acorn (left) and the oak (right)... though here, like the chicken and egg, things get complicated, and, well....<br /><br />Anyway, its a habit and a problem. Repeatedly, I <i>tell</i> my learners that our society places capitalism/ists "to the right" even as I <i>demonstrate</i> placing them "to the left."<br /><br />Is it any wonder my learners struggle with the Social Studies portion of the GED?<br /><br />If I had to draw a conclusion from this, I guess it would be that I am not yet as skillful as I could be at using the many tools I have at my disposal to help my learners discover political-economy.<br /><br />Telling people things isn't the same as <i>teaching</i> them. Teaching, I think, requires us to display, perform, articulate, demonstrate, reveal (I'm dissatisfied by all these verbs) information in a media-rich, careful and internally consistent manner; and then to clarify, clarify, clarify. Teaching well, maybe, means being awfully self-aware and aware of how things look from the other side. Better tools and techniques mightn't hurt, but they are no substitute for reflection and reflective practice.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d0D6PzAO5iM/V4cAognSpAI/AAAAAAAAIcM/9-HtT6pXodAu-s1LJW6N3FLMGDIyk-v_QCLcB/s1600/IMG_1598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d0D6PzAO5iM/V4cAognSpAI/AAAAAAAAIcM/9-HtT6pXodAu-s1LJW6N3FLMGDIyk-v_QCLcB/s400/IMG_1598.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />_ _ _ _ _<br />P.s., I am deliberately using the term "teaching" here rather than "facilitating" or "scaffolding." I know there's some discomfort with this term (I feel it too), but it fits my purpose here in a way I'll have to try to explain in a different post.<br /><div><br /></div>Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-60545484266359893682016-07-12T14:40:00.000-03:002016-07-12T14:43:00.984-03:00Not civics, political-economy <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3crapf2rp_Q/V4UbfNjR4WI/AAAAAAAAIbU/N8kR7ppWZkEZosk0T9D8GhJxbyK4tQvywCLcB/s1600/civlitnotwhatever2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3crapf2rp_Q/V4UbfNjR4WI/AAAAAAAAIbU/N8kR7ppWZkEZosk0T9D8GhJxbyK4tQvywCLcB/s400/civlitnotwhatever2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Please choose one (because we don't do diversity or inclusion).</td></tr></tbody></table><br />In my email:<br /><br />"Elections Canada and ABC Life Literacy Canada are partnering on this survey to help ensure our civic literacy resources fit the needs of your students. Your answers will inform how we update our current resources, and what resources we create next.<br /><br />"We want to know: how does civic literacy fit into your work?<br /><br />"As educators, your role is crucial to informing students about voting, how the government works, and the rights and responsibilities of citizens and elected members of government. We want to make sure we're supporting your work with your students, the voters of tomorrow."<br /><br />Well, ABC Life Literacy Canada, I'm worried you're not really up to supporting my work. &nbsp;My learners, for example, are not caricatures: they are not "the voters of tomorrow," they're the voters of today, sometimes. Because we practice inclusion in this part of the country, I can't assign my learners to a single PIAAC pidgeon hole - PIAAC? Really? &nbsp;Really? - and answering "I don't know" isn't a solution because I always know the skill levels of my learners. &nbsp;More, I don't know that I do cover civics, the rights and responsibilities of citizens,&nbsp;in my classroom. I think the proper name for what we study together is "political-economy" - what Britannica calls "the study of how a country... is managed or governed, taking into account both political <i>and economic</i> factors. (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/political-economy">citation</a>, emphasis added).<br /><br />So, I don't think I will take your survey. &nbsp;But you carry on with the self-promotion you've become so good at. &nbsp;And my learners and I will carry on with our do-it-yourself learning-about-government using our dumpy hand-draw posters and our even dodgier provincial newspaper.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7Q9v7pvDI8Y/V4UlcmOmx7I/AAAAAAAAIbk/nw1AOPUXpnoV9qlG_HuCoIptdZ1ZD8GqgCLcB/s1600/Civic%2BLearning%2BDIY%2B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7Q9v7pvDI8Y/V4UlcmOmx7I/AAAAAAAAIbk/nw1AOPUXpnoV9qlG_HuCoIptdZ1ZD8GqgCLcB/s400/Civic%2BLearning%2BDIY%2B01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><br />Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-91966487123448051872016-03-25T13:07:00.000-03:002016-05-09T19:56:39.435-03:00Spring, 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1vyON4cWrC8/VvV8tUHvrvI/AAAAAAAAITg/kY5okFUKaXQujxJuA4_9z1RVTO9FU--7w/s1600/post%2BtopIMG_3006%2B%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1vyON4cWrC8/VvV8tUHvrvI/AAAAAAAAITg/kY5okFUKaXQujxJuA4_9z1RVTO9FU--7w/s1600/post%2BtopIMG_3006%2B%25283%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />It's been four or maybe five years since self-appointed leaders in adult literacy set our field alight.<br /><br />(Remember those campaigns and conferences on literacy as poverty reduction or economic stimulus or employment readiness? Remember when we promoted key-note speeches from bank VPs and CEOs? Remember how they reminded us that being effective and accountable meant focusing on international test rankings, financial literacy scores and workplace essential skills - even while banks and investment houses received more than $100 billion in bailouts from our national government?)<br /><br />By now, much of the field has burned to the ground. &nbsp;The hungry gazes of professional organizers, guest speakers for hire and other social service looters have shifted elsewhere (schools, hospitals, carbon reduction, water). &nbsp;Maybe, for awhile, they'll leave us alone.<br /><br />I was thinking I might start writing again.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3mjbA7iT6iA/VvV8oxu1elI/AAAAAAAAITc/X8sLf1ZMRrAEXqOyzhcLWrRPQNjhFB8Qw/s1600/postbottomIMG_3006%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3mjbA7iT6iA/VvV8oxu1elI/AAAAAAAAITc/X8sLf1ZMRrAEXqOyzhcLWrRPQNjhFB8Qw/s1600/postbottomIMG_3006%2B%25282%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-46153054329367595662016-02-29T16:04:00.000-04:002016-03-25T16:18:27.501-03:0015 Months(A placeholder post.)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rLFlWEzPv8I/VvWFmU4n9NI/AAAAAAAAIUQ/VsNxqCW1KlkGNAId1zfCfX8FTnY26rasQ/s1600/10563115_10204688503991881_6602037500607285777_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rLFlWEzPv8I/VvWFmU4n9NI/AAAAAAAAIUQ/VsNxqCW1KlkGNAId1zfCfX8FTnY26rasQ/s1600/10563115_10204688503991881_6602037500607285777_n.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1iI_WZMKALY/VvWFm4AiYnI/AAAAAAAAIUk/eRz3VsdvoR0AfIozHzWdhIas__cABs8Pw/s1600/1462930_10205734584423238_7400078090911151355_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1iI_WZMKALY/VvWFm4AiYnI/AAAAAAAAIUk/eRz3VsdvoR0AfIozHzWdhIas__cABs8Pw/s320/1462930_10205734584423238_7400078090911151355_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hk9CvMuFNno/VvWFmytmJBI/AAAAAAAAIUg/WVu6AcM38ZMwBl3KcFQBlpH9jLORKjChg/s1600/1538738_10205165498476445_4041028197584543979_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hk9CvMuFNno/VvWFmytmJBI/AAAAAAAAIUg/WVu6AcM38ZMwBl3KcFQBlpH9jLORKjChg/s200/1538738_10205165498476445_4041028197584543979_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RIhcuV5atQ4/VvWK1ZVdhQI/AAAAAAAAIVU/VbfoecPkuYsXPvN53Z77geRjDq07KSlPA/s1600/WBSITE%2BPIC%2B2015%2B%25281170%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RIhcuV5atQ4/VvWK1ZVdhQI/AAAAAAAAIVU/VbfoecPkuYsXPvN53Z77geRjDq07KSlPA/s320/WBSITE%2BPIC%2B2015%2B%25281170%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CuA4zJ2k_Es/VvWGwCfPVTI/AAAAAAAAIUs/wGk-PZPMCmoTopsZfz-PTMVezzJpl6QqQ/s1600/WBSITI50%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CuA4zJ2k_Es/VvWGwCfPVTI/AAAAAAAAIUs/wGk-PZPMCmoTopsZfz-PTMVezzJpl6QqQ/s1600/WBSITI50%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DDLOp581Mms/VvWK7hNUhCI/AAAAAAAAIVY/Ki3kN2EzKQI1Q3qW1waBfR_Ez2or1atzQ/s1600/WBSITE%2BPIC%2B2015%2B%2528730%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DDLOp581Mms/VvWK7hNUhCI/AAAAAAAAIVY/Ki3kN2EzKQI1Q3qW1waBfR_Ez2or1atzQ/s200/WBSITE%2BPIC%2B2015%2B%2528730%2529.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bT2aUcIt5yI/VvWJCo-V_KI/AAAAAAAAIVI/t8lugCp6vFI46kIQreRIIvuQLj6LWOByA/s1600/C6ty67uy65tard01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bT2aUcIt5yI/VvWJCo-V_KI/AAAAAAAAIVI/t8lugCp6vFI46kIQreRIIvuQLj6LWOByA/s400/C6ty67uy65tard01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KY7UIXY9EoE/VvWHmLf2KbI/AAAAAAAAIU8/FJLMBAfeYrU6XwTjSbUeyK5ciIevj2WFw/s1600/IMgg5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KY7UIXY9EoE/VvWHmLf2KbI/AAAAAAAAIU8/FJLMBAfeYrU6XwTjSbUeyK5ciIevj2WFw/s400/IMgg5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pOwvewtPoWg/VvWLeHgUL8I/AAAAAAAAIVc/-CEbzPORlHA45IfawcMkx4MldlbBJBvGw/s1600/954815_10205836523731657_7714978702535519676_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pOwvewtPoWg/VvWLeHgUL8I/AAAAAAAAIVc/-CEbzPORlHA45IfawcMkx4MldlbBJBvGw/s320/954815_10205836523731657_7714978702535519676_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-72449913061160008362014-09-29T13:18:00.000-03:002016-03-25T16:24:20.598-03:00Changes, Autumn 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2vK4rPUQPDc/VvV_CODyR9I/AAAAAAAAITs/myAtqdarJnkJ19pHYa0-TdzcgIY6U5uRg/s1600/560%2BBeFunky_BeFung.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2vK4rPUQPDc/VvV_CODyR9I/AAAAAAAAITs/myAtqdarJnkJ19pHYa0-TdzcgIY6U5uRg/s1600/560%2BBeFunky_BeFung.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div>I've changed my employer, my location and the tone of my work.<br /><br />My class is now hosted in a largely residential neighbourhood community centre that also offers drop-in programs for seniors, as well as some early childhood and afterschool programming. &nbsp;I'm still a basic adult education facilitator - which largely means doing GED preparation. &nbsp;But there is less emphasis on employment readiness, and there is a bit less of an institutional feel to my work even though I'm working more closely with provincial government representatives. &nbsp;The community centre has asked about the potential for me to offer more basic adult literacy support in an "after hours" context - so that's interesting.<br /><br />I'm also continuing to do easy-access family literacy projects like storytents, reading corners and book lending in various venues; though this remains part-time temporary or straight up volunteer work.<br /><br /><br /></div>Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-41924089099715943192013-08-25T13:10:00.001-03:002016-03-25T16:20:15.910-03:00Choices, Autumn 2013<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pZFtm1dasko/VvV_WPtzijI/AAAAAAAAITw/Tqj14lJYOZIfAna6W8sGX7kLv5YMJgtXQ/s1600/560learners%2Bgone_thumb%255B19%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pZFtm1dasko/VvV_WPtzijI/AAAAAAAAITw/Tqj14lJYOZIfAna6W8sGX7kLv5YMJgtXQ/s1600/560learners%2Bgone_thumb%255B19%255D.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />I've given up my evening class. Probably for good.<br /><br />It was what I wanted. It opens up space and time for new, equally important things. It was what I wanted, and I talked it over with some good friends.<br /><br />The morning after our last class, I woke up with hives and a sore throat. The next night, the nightmares started.<br /><br />It's foolishness, of course. Sheer egomania. <strike>My learners</strike> The learners will be fine with whoever takes over.<br /><br />It was what I wanted. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vTdoaHzgowU/VvV_cIxSnRI/AAAAAAAAIT0/U4ine0fifBgVtuW2AXdcWjjY-r1vpBrAQ/s1600/300learners%2Bgone%2B2_thumb%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vTdoaHzgowU/VvV_cIxSnRI/AAAAAAAAIT0/U4ine0fifBgVtuW2AXdcWjjY-r1vpBrAQ/s1600/300learners%2Bgone%2B2_thumb%255B1%255D.jpg" /></a></div><br />Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-30843605652977763362013-08-17T20:38:00.000-03:002016-03-26T21:46:32.865-03:009 Things I Learned In School (Summer 2013)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BThjhDyTtEk/UhlDPvTqk-I/AAAAAAAAGno/RaAPxsdvJrk/s1600/School+Days+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BThjhDyTtEk/UhlDPvTqk-I/AAAAAAAAGno/RaAPxsdvJrk/s1600/School+Days+1.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />I'm five-eights of the way through my adult-ed certification process with UVic. &nbsp;Here, in no particular order, are some of my learnings.<br /><br />1. &nbsp;None of the fun kids take the same courses as me. &nbsp;Everyone is very earnest. &nbsp;I haven't laughed even once.<br /><br />2. &nbsp;Although I really didn't care about marks when I started, I now do. &nbsp;I consider 96 to 98% to be an acceptable range. &nbsp;Higher is nicer. &nbsp;Modestly, I set my sights on 95%. &nbsp;I'll take 90% as a pass. &nbsp;Below that, I angrily scratch the numbers out with a thick crayola marker, black.<br /><br />3. &nbsp;I'm happier with a steady pull - one light assignment per week - than a heavier assignment at two or three week intervals. &nbsp;I can only imagine what a year long course ending with a one-shot GED test feels like.<br /><br />4. &nbsp;There is a glaring flaw in the implied philosophy of the courses: namely, that it is possible and appropriate for us as educators to determine what our students will learn, as well as the ways and means they will do this learning, long before we meet them. &nbsp;It's not just didactic, it's dictatorial. &nbsp;In the Roman sense. &nbsp;No student-centered, individualized curriculum here. &nbsp;I'd heard about this sort of thing, of course. &nbsp;When I took my first job with a literacy organization? &nbsp;I remember my manager gently explaining that "top down teaching" would be cause for immediate termination.<br /><br />5. &nbsp;School is an ineffective learning environment for me. &nbsp;After five 12-week courses, I only remember a tiny bit about one (some terms used in assessment) and the content of three of the 12 or 14 short papers I wrote.<br /><br />6. &nbsp;I don't like learning from the YouTube videos they show us. &nbsp;It's not YouTube's fault. &nbsp;I learn crazy big stuff about science and computers and playing top 40 guitar licks from YouTube. &nbsp;But with these guys, it feels like I can read faster than people talk. &nbsp;It takes forever. &nbsp;So, I skip to the end. Then it doesn't make sense.<br /><br />7. &nbsp;I'm a liberal, not a progressive. &nbsp;Pretty much a classical liberal. &nbsp;I get along best with the angry old Marxist and a couple of family-friendly humanists. &nbsp;But the progressives make me bite my tongue.<br /><br />8. &nbsp;Hardly anyone in the adult education field knows that, philosophically, the term "critical" means "critical of ideas that are self-serving, serve the interests of the ruling class, or both." &nbsp;They seem to think it means "seeing things in new ways" (which, itself, would be a pleasant change, but I digress).<br /><br />9. &nbsp;As in the past, the modern university can function without ever touching upon, or being touched by, the world around it. &nbsp;Nothing we've done or said in class has been said or done differently because of climate change, government spying scandals, illegal military ventures, election fraud, the dismantling of the social safety net, stagnate low employment or Charter contraventions by local and national police forces. &nbsp;It's all been pleasantly Platonic and imaginary. &nbsp;Well... a few people complained about their employers. &nbsp;And the Marxist talks about the Capitalists, but nobody pays any attention to <i>him</i>.<br /><br />Course Six coming soon.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ootumctc1bI/UhlDPOon8PI/AAAAAAAAGng/YxWTzzg8l9w/s1600/School+Days2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ootumctc1bI/UhlDPOon8PI/AAAAAAAAGng/YxWTzzg8l9w/s200/School+Days2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-81787851688878767202013-06-24T11:19:00.001-03:002016-03-25T15:29:10.684-03:00Literacies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kAJEfEvBVvQ/VvV_qgs7MxI/AAAAAAAAIT4/PnMTPXNg-4AaPQctvu2VoiKd_8uDw0pug/s1600/560Literacies%2BRenewed%2B1_thumb%255B3%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kAJEfEvBVvQ/VvV_qgs7MxI/AAAAAAAAIT4/PnMTPXNg-4AaPQctvu2VoiKd_8uDw0pug/s1600/560Literacies%2BRenewed%2B1_thumb%255B3%255D.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><br />My Literacies t-shirt is too full of holes now to wear even on weekends.&nbsp; I'm forced to wear my other superhero shirts.<br /><br />I'm thinking it's time to learn how iron-on transfers work.<br /><br /><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-fVULhqOKRqM/UchVaxL6KOI/AAAAAAAAGX4/QpelbtO2UT8/s1600-h/Literacies%252520Renewed%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="Literacies Renewed" border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-1W1CTTzdxX4/UchVbqihLTI/AAAAAAAAGYA/_MEloLBU-BQ/Literacies%252520Renewed_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="711" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Literacies Renewed" width="504" /></a>Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-54380213790857055072013-02-23T19:57:00.000-04:002016-03-25T15:13:55.361-03:00Giving It Away (February 2013)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zRIBcV3q3VM/VvV_2Taf-pI/AAAAAAAAIT8/N5UIcEfR5xMOY8gDTaiKvVoGLNTY7NzQA/s1600/560%2Bfeb%2B2%2B2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zRIBcV3q3VM/VvV_2Taf-pI/AAAAAAAAIT8/N5UIcEfR5xMOY8gDTaiKvVoGLNTY7NzQA/s1600/560%2Bfeb%2B2%2B2013.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />Somebody else will be doing - or not doing - Storytent and Bookwagon in this neighbourhood from now on. &nbsp;Which is a thing we'll talk about down the road.Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-86488848865219236162012-12-03T19:32:00.000-04:002016-12-24T06:25:19.111-04:00Closing up 2012 - Needing Some Quiet Time<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-53152225438663239052012-10-21T01:47:00.001-03:002016-03-26T21:52:38.128-03:00A pedagogy subtle as a ditch<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-fX97pUdN_t0/UIN-VgctuvI/AAAAAAAAGBU/rpXhcolsp-s/s1600-h/schoolishell_MattG%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="schoolishell_MattG" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-xS7nrafBi10/UIN-WhQPW4I/AAAAAAAAGBc/t6-dvB1q0KM/schoolishell_MattG_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="304" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="schoolishell_MattG" width="496" /></a><br /><blockquote>Instead schools were organizations designed to colonize, imprint, and shape from within….<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Kirsten Olson, <em>Schools as Colonizers</em></blockquote><br />I owe Kirsten Olsen an apology.&nbsp; For a couple of years now, I have been scribbling dismissive notes in the introduction to her <em>Schools as Colonizers</em>.&nbsp; Despite my appreciation of later chapters - you can, by the way, read the first chapter in pdf <a href="http://www.kirstenolson.org/cmsAdmin/uploads/SAC_Ch_1.pdf">here</a> - I found her use of the term "colonizers" nonsensical.<br />It has taken less than six weeks in an educational institute to bring me to my senses.<br /><br />Tomorrow's assignment, for example, is to relate a significant learning moment from my life using a narrative structure.&nbsp; Then, I am to reflect on my learning process - not the what, but the how - and ask myself if there is anything in it that I can translate into a principle or idea that might make me a better facilitator.<br /><br />Okay.&nbsp; Significant learning.&nbsp; Think about the process.&nbsp; Translate into a way to help others.<br /><br />Well, hell.&nbsp; I can do that.&nbsp; I have 50 or 60 posts on this blog that do exactly that!&nbsp; I just have to write a new one. <br /><br />Ah, yes... &nbsp;but that is <em>not</em> the assignment, really.&nbsp; The real assignment is to do the above while drawing on (and quoting from) class readings and notes from the past few weeks.&nbsp; Also, it would be swell if I could point out where one or another of my classmates made a remark that, you know, helped with this reflection.&nbsp; Show how I've grown as a person and facilitator.<br /><br />Okay.&nbsp; Significant learning.&nbsp; Think about the process.&nbsp; Translate into a way to help others.&nbsp; Relate to class reading.&nbsp; Relate to classmate's remark.&nbsp; Illustrate positive outcome of/from course materials and activities.<br /><br />You see, this is not an exercise in reflective practice.&nbsp; It is a <em>test</em>.&nbsp; It is a test of my ability to <em>internalize</em>, to make the authorized texts (class reading) my own.&nbsp; On the side, I am charged with validating - offering personal witness to - the pedagogical effectiveness of our group discussions.<br /><br />It's been a long time since I have felt this level of manipulation.<br /><br />I'll do it.&nbsp; What else am I going to do?&nbsp; I'll look back through our class posts to find somewhere where I agreed with a classmate's point.&nbsp; Then, I'll go find a reading assignment that made the same point.&nbsp; From there, I'll pick out - or just make up - some realization I've had that I can use to illustrate their point.&nbsp; Then, I'll write it down in narrative structure as though I really were telling a story from my own life.<br /><br />I'll do it.&nbsp; But it won't be authentic, or useful, or learner centered.<br /><br />I want to stress that I'm talking about a structural issue here.&nbsp; The dear soul who has set me this assignment would be puzzled and hurt by my cynical reaction.&nbsp; She would say - as she has elsewhere - that these are only suggestions.&nbsp; True enough.&nbsp; But they are suggestions we're being graded on.&nbsp; That's a powerful hammer in the toolbox of manipulation.&nbsp; Even I, someone who doesn't much care about grades, wouldn't like to be exposed as the kind of idiot failure who can't finish a simple writing assignment.<br /><br />I also want to say that this same professor has alerted me to some quite interesting essays - pieces I want to spend time digesting and learning from.&nbsp; But that will have to happen later, after I'm outside the artificial box created by curriculum and assignments and group work and authority.&nbsp; Just like 30 years ago, I have to wait for school to be over before I'll have time to learn.<br /><br />Valuable reading materials.&nbsp; Interesting perspectives.&nbsp; A smart, well-meaning facilitator…&nbsp; all for naught because we can't any of us escape the jail house called school.<br /><br />To "colonize, imprint, and shape from within."<br /><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-MoJ5rblCfvo/UIN-XfVaGUI/AAAAAAAAGBk/1cwV2OfmGTA/s1600-h/bk_schools%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="bk_schools" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-a5bffqBU9WA/UIN-X0v6ReI/AAAAAAAAGBs/UPKr0KrJWSg/bk_schools_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" height="300" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="bk_schools" width="206" /></a>Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-59046476241215963482012-09-29T14:45:00.001-03:002016-07-14T00:30:07.389-03:00The virtues of paperwork<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uQT0K61dcoQ/V4cGGtuRo8I/AAAAAAAAIck/mGm9R_ZY5F8-RdBxp0uBsR5HByq2MNksgCLcB/s1600/paperwork06%255B5%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uQT0K61dcoQ/V4cGGtuRo8I/AAAAAAAAIck/mGm9R_ZY5F8-RdBxp0uBsR5HByq2MNksgCLcB/s400/paperwork06%255B5%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />She was saying she got a bunch of paperwork done, and so that felt good.<br /><br />Thinking to tease her, I said, "Yeah, but you love paperwork.&nbsp; I mean, I'll put up with it, but you really like it."<br /><br />"Well," she said, "it's something tangible.&nbsp; It's a physical thing you can do - you can see that you've accomplished it." <br /><br />"Yeah.&nbsp; Okay.&nbsp; I can see that."<br /><br />And then she said this: "And to me it seems like it's all about communication.&nbsp; I think communication is really important."<br /><br />Chastened, I determined to do my paperwork better this year.<br /><br />Communication is really important.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-om61RO2UUs4/V4cGWJb1RFI/AAAAAAAAIco/Shqtiak-mGk8wYsqCfh7eZjy91GWXPGXQCLcB/s1600/yellloender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-om61RO2UUs4/V4cGWJb1RFI/AAAAAAAAIco/Shqtiak-mGk8wYsqCfh7eZjy91GWXPGXQCLcB/s320/yellloender.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-46549476300434100522012-08-29T22:02:00.001-03:002012-08-29T22:09:09.996-03:00The employment - education disconnect (Part 2)<p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-xCaCtEAUsaU/UD67d6pGfPI/AAAAAAAAF9M/E0lQuVZVUi8/s1600-h/saint%252520john%2525202012%252520r4%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="saint john 2012 r4" alt="saint john 2012 r4" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-I_ddiICdhoc/UD67eW5GCOI/AAAAAAAAF9U/d_EbwVXMfqo/saint%252520john%2525202012%252520r4_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="420" height="169"></a><br>In New Brunswick, even the NDP blame unemployment on the unemployed, blame poverty on the poor - and suggest a little more learning will sort everything out. </p> <p>Yesterday, Jim Stanford wrote a short post on Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of Canada, speaking to a union audience at the most recent CAW convention (<a href="http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2012/08/28/spinning-mr-carney/">Spinning Mr. Carney</a>).</p> <p>Among the things that caught my eye was this:</p> <blockquote> <p>He noted (citing previous Bank of Canada research) that Canada had the second worst export performance of any G-20 country in the last decade (measured by the decline in our share of world exports).&nbsp; Two-thirds of that weakness, he argued, is due to the structure of our trade: the fact that we export primarily to the U.S. and other relatively stagnant markets, rather than faster-growing emerging economies.&nbsp; One-third of the poor performance is due to competitiveness.&nbsp; Within that latter category, the high dollar has been the dominant factor (explaining two-thirds of the erosion in competitiveness).&nbsp; The remaining one-third of the one-third is due to the combination of faster-growing labour costs and slower productivity growth.</p></blockquote> <p>Mr. Stanford discusses some particulars about the Canadian dollar, and about whether free trade agreements help or hinder economic growth.&nbsp; Then he writes:</p> <blockquote> <p>It was Mr. Carney’s comments (after his speech) about the growing hoard of idle corporate cash that generated maximum media attention, however - including front page of the Globe and Mail the next day....&nbsp; Carney called it “dead money” and urged corporations to either spend it on capital, or give it back to their shareholders.&nbsp; (That’s not my favoured solution, by the way … since much of that hoard is directly attributable to corporate income tax cuts, I’d prefer giving the money back to governments, who could then spend it on public capital and infrastructure projects, thus generating far more economic benefit than would be derived from pumping more money into the chequing accounts of wealthy investors.)</p></blockquote> <p>"Mr. Carney’s appearance," writes Stanford, "thus sparked a useful and timely debate about whether corporations are indeed adequately doing the “job” they’re supposed to under capitalism."</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-s8FuBhEDd-E/UD67fxQ_9sI/AAAAAAAAF9c/Qf6s4jUKMSg/s1600-h/flag_of_new_brunswick-svg%25255B4%25255D.png"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="flag_of_new_brunswick-svg" alt="flag_of_new_brunswick-svg" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-hOZNI5G5WGA/UD67gXBFhsI/AAAAAAAAF9k/o9XK-ZVv_60/flag_of_new_brunswick-svg_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="136" height="87"></a></p> <p>Today, Brad Woodside, mayor of Fredericton (New Brunswick's capital city), was quoted in a regional CBC story reacting to news that the "Marriott Global Reservation Sales and Customer Care centre will be closing its doors in February, putting 265 people out of work" (<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2012/08/29/nb-woodside-marriott-job-creation-strategy.html">CBC</a>).&nbsp; In fact, his reaction was similar to the one he had a few days earlier when hundreds of NBers flocked to an Alberta job fair held in his city:</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-RljvJ81NWd0/UD67hOfeAFI/AAAAAAAAF9s/8PMdZ04X1TM/s1600-h/Woodside%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="Woodside" alt="Woodside" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-rgjWHprlmc4/UD67hnhuQpI/AAAAAAAAF90/tZWC6YHLtmM/Woodside_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="420" height="86"></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The CBC also got a reaction from provincial NDP Leader Dominic Cardy for that same Marriott story:</p> <blockquote> <p>The Marriott has received more than $750,000 from the provincial government — $324,000 in a forgivable loan from the Liberals in 1998 and $427,500 from the Conservatives in 2000, said Cardy.</p> <p>“Marriott is not going out of business, they are getting out of New Brunswick, and taking our tax dollars with them,” he said in a statement.</p> <p>And the Marriott is not alone, he said. Since 2000, New Brunswick governments have given at least $15 million to call centres that have closed.</p> <p>“This money should have been spent on building the strength of our education system, to make sure our workers have the essential skills they need to compete in a global economy,” Cardy said.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-XlR29-iZhMQ/UD67iVNI2tI/AAAAAAAAF98/_-tiRAjCtyM/s1600-h/voae%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="voae" alt="voae" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-3c1UEM0cyAs/UD67io4xdbI/AAAAAAAAF-E/ZHj6eNLgWZA/voae_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="155" height="95"></a></p> <p>Okay.&nbsp; Let's connect some dots.</p> <p>Banker Mark Carney says - and autoworkers' economist Jim Stanford agrees - that our economic woes have a lot to do with the fact that our trade ties are to shrinking European, US and domestic markets "rather than faster-growing emerging economies."&nbsp; According to these two, our economic woes also have a little to do with "competitiveness" - by which they mostly mean the competitiveness of the Canadian dollar, but also mean (the "remaining one-third of the one-third") faster-growing labour costs and slower productivity growth.</p> <p>Now, like "competitiveness", the noun "productivity" is a plastic word (<a href="http://www.vianegativa.us/2004/03/plastic-words/">Poerksen</a> or <a href="http://books.google.ca/books/about/Plastic_Words.html?id=LDiaR8l0XwYC&amp;redir_esc=y">here</a>) which needs be defined.&nbsp; I'm guessing it means something like 'cost per unit of production' or 'how much can you make given how much you spend'.</p> <p>In either case, neither the bourgeois Bank of Canada Governor, nor the proletarian unionist, labour-centric economist, suggested that the problem is that Canada's workers are too poorly skilled and under-educated to make a buck.</p> <p>No... that suggestion came from our own NDP leader Dominic Cardy: “This money should have been spent on building the strength of our education system, to make sure our workers have the essential skills they need to compete in a global economy."</p> <p>I understand the pickle NB's economy is in.&nbsp; And I understand the temptation faced any leader of the NDP to combat a reputation for being a "tax and spend" party by promoting a "theme of fiscal responsibility," as Cardy stated for another CBC <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2011/03/02/nb-cardy-new-ndp-leader.html">news story</a>.&nbsp; I understand the strategy of seeming more "progressive conservative" than the PCs themselves.</p> <p>I understand.</p> <p>But I cannot accept - and will certainly never support - a party that explicitly blames the misfortunes of New Brunswick workers on the workers themselves.</p> <p>Nor do I recognize as an employment and economic development strategy, "Send everybody back to school."</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-veweRkUpknI/UD67jLMEVxI/AAAAAAAAF-M/DY6PbEDTvBA/s1600-h/0555%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="0555" alt="0555" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-0BX2xtpO3qU/UD67j7xkhGI/AAAAAAAAF-U/fMH_Ou9zr9c/0555_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="240" height="180"></a></p> Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-5392482790620131172012-08-05T13:54:00.001-03:002012-08-05T20:12:13.323-03:00Barriers in adult education<p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-0Ui6_D-Iu9I/UB6lHmff6AI/AAAAAAAAF68/jFhArorSSW0/s1600-h/meeting%252520them%252520where%252520they%252520are%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="meeting them where they are" alt="meeting them where they are" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-VRziutt4xzA/UB6lIXKgTPI/AAAAAAAAF7E/gKPoTvnCybU/meeting%252520them%252520where%252520they%252520are_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="533" height="195"></a></p> <blockquote> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>As can be seen, learners prioritised publicity since they could not participate until they knew what was available. Once they knew what was available they wanted to meet someone to talk to about the course. They particularly valued individual contact that would focus on their needs and this was their preferred method for finding out about the courses on offer and getting detailed information about their chosen course.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - Evaluation of the Scottish Adult Literacy and Numeracy (ALN) Strategy - <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/03/20102141/5">Final Report</a> (2006)<br></p></blockquote> <blockquote></blockquote> <p><strong>1.</strong>&nbsp; I wrote a few months back about the parent who approached our bookwagon <a href="http://wendell-communitylit.blogspot.ca/2012/03/i-just-want-to-learn-to-read.html">seeking reading help</a>.&nbsp; "I just want to learn to read," is what she said.&nbsp; At the time, QLNB wasn't running classes and I wasn't doing any tutoring, so all I could think of to do was encourage her to call one of our literacy orgs.&nbsp; She did: she called one I work with.&nbsp; But, when it came time for her to start, well....&nbsp; Let's avoid blame language and just say phone calls were made - she didn't start.</p> <p>Not long ago, I caught another chance to connect with her.&nbsp; Circumstances had changed, and I was in a position to invite her into a class - my evening class - right away.&nbsp; "Come tonight," I said.&nbsp; "Or, if you can't, then come Tuesday.&nbsp; Or come next Thursday.&nbsp; But come."</p> <p>That night, I prepped.</p> <p>It's not easy to prep for someone when you don't know their independent reading level or their points of interest.&nbsp; First, I gathered books ranging in levels of reading difficulty from 1 through 6: the <em>Grass Roots Press</em> readers, the PRACE <em>Pageturners</em>, Janet Dailies' romance novelettes, Ms. H's <em>Jack Sloan</em> and <em>Tony Jefferson</em> novelettes, a handful of lower levelled <em>Oxford Bookworm</em> titles.&nbsp; I cast about for writing exercises - I knew I would want to do experience stories, but also wanted some writing she could do independently.&nbsp; I tracked down my binders with the Marshall materials and the 'best of the reader' exercises.&nbsp; I made sure my whole numbers binder was complete.&nbsp; Then I plotted seating arrangements, waiting to see if she would come.</p> <p>She didn't show that night, nor the next week (after a weekend when I again hustled about feeling - <a href="http://katenonesuch.com/2012/08/01/getting-out-of-my-own-way/">as Kate N. uncomfortably puts it</a> - "conscious of the work I put into preparing this lesson, the knowledge I bring to teaching reading, or the experience I have with students 'exactly like her'").&nbsp; Well... what are you going to do?</p> <p>She was/is still on our waiting list.&nbsp; Should she be?&nbsp; It entered my head to write a note to my colleagues saying that, at this time, she was not a good candidate for our programs.</p> <p>Yeah.</p> <p>Hold that thought.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-MDQYW0YIa5U/UB6lI7I2UmI/AAAAAAAAF7M/dHlHWcaAYv4/s1600-h/roadblock%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="roadblock" alt="roadblock" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-HwDM3jt_-0U/UB6lJaBDqgI/AAAAAAAAF7U/UqTdE_Rs5eU/roadblock_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="488" height="270"></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <blockquote> <p>Since the 1980s, federal and provincial government polices have supported a range of public awareness efforts and programs to encourage and help adults to develop literacy skills. However, despite the availability of programs and growing public awareness about adult literacy, only five-to-ten percent of adults who may have reading difficulties actually enrol in programs (Long, 2002).<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - Mary Norton, <a href="http://www.wideningaccessforliteracies.ca/project/project_proposal.pdf">Widening Access</a> (2005)<br></p></blockquote> <p><strong>2.</strong>&nbsp; So, I sent in my application for admission to UVic, and my non-refundable $50, and got this email in return:</p> <blockquote> <p>Thank you for submitting an application to the UVic Certificate in Adult and Continuing Education (CACE) program.<br>&nbsp;<br>We have received your application, application fee, letter of interest, and resume. The following documents are outstanding in the application process:</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - Proof of High School graduation – this may be submitted to our office as an un/official copy of degree, diploma, or transcript from High School or a post-secondary institution.</p></blockquote> <p>Yeeeaah....&nbsp; I didn't send it because I don't have any proof, actually.&nbsp; I was hoping there would be a sort of "mature student" category, and that my work record, publications, and awards might speak louder than something that happened 32 years ago.&nbsp; But, if it's proof of graduation academia needs, then proof I shall try to find.</p> <p>Here's the thing, though.&nbsp; In New Brunswick, that stuff is handled by each local school's administrative staff and they may or may not be in the office during the month of August.&nbsp; In any case, in 1980 school records were not computerized, so somebody is going to have to do a hard-file search.</p> <p>In the event, I called my old high school and left a message.&nbsp; I checked online, but couldn't find an email address for the school.&nbsp; I did find an online printable form for requesting transcripts, complete with checkboxes for how I planned to pay for this service, but no information about how much it would cost nor to whom payment would be made.</p> <p>I called Fredericton and talked to the records people, but they said Oromocto High had to handle it.&nbsp; They also gave me a contact name, but that person isn't actually listed on gnb's mail server or, for that matter, as a Department of Education employee.</p> <p>*sigh*</p> <p>I do have an email into UVic hinting that this might take a Long Time and so maybe they could move my application along....&nbsp; maybe they'll think I'm worth the trouble.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-jaBEVUckupE/UB6lKWgmdCI/AAAAAAAAF7c/pYCFLpBcyPI/s1600-h/vandels%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="vandels" alt="vandels" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-MGkhkWqgFCA/UB6lLK-r9cI/AAAAAAAAF7k/d7l1h8jav_c/vandels_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="312" height="260"></a></p> <blockquote> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Look out kid, they keep it all hid<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Better jump down a manhole, light yourself a candle<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Don’t wear sandals, try to avoid the scandals<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Don’t wanna be a bum, you better chew gum<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The pump don’t work cause the vandals took the handles<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - Bob Dylan, <em>Subterranean Homesick Blues</em></p></blockquote> <p><strong>3.</strong>&nbsp; I <a href="http://wendell-communitylit.blogspot.ca/2012/07/updates.html">was saying</a> I'm trying on this <em>Certificate in Adult and Continuing Education</em> thing as a sort of exercise in ethnomethodology.&nbsp; But that's a lie.&nbsp; No offense, Denny, but ethnomez bores me stiff.&nbsp; My poison is systems analysis through a critical, para-marxist lens.&nbsp; And already, there's a whole bunch I could say about the commitment of formal educational institutions to formal institutional paperwork, and the obstacles (and expense) that commitment throws up in front of adults who come to their door looking to learn.</p> <p>But I'm not going to.</p> <p>Because I've got a more serious problem.&nbsp; I know a lady who said she wants to learn to read, and I - I who so proudly wave my experience and accomplishments in this field - was about to tell the people I work with that since she can't seem to follow our intake processes, we should strike her from our waiting list.</p> <p>Like me, she can't "get the paperwork right" and isn't worth the trouble.</p> <p><em>Wait, what?</em></p> <p>"Obviously, even when you're poor, it's hard to take time out of your day to do this thing called learning," said my friend as we drove east toward <em>Indigo</em> (me scribbling her words down on a map of Miramichi City).</p> <blockquote> <p>I mean, look at me.&nbsp; When I was trying to go to school I had to take time away from my sleep.&nbsp; When I went to university two nights a week, I would come home and do laundry until 4 in the morning.&nbsp; It's not like someone can replace you in the job of life.</p></blockquote> <p>Really?&nbsp; Four in the morning?</p> <blockquote> <p>Really. I'd finish up my paperwork from my day job, get the kids' things ready for the next day, and then do the washing.&nbsp; I can remember folding clothes, and the clock would say 4 a.m.</p></blockquote> <p>Yeah, well.&nbsp; I'm not doing laundry at four in the morning for anybody.&nbsp; Still.&nbsp; Barriers to adult learning and literacy are either the things we whine about in between writing posts and papers full of empty aspiration (not least when the barriers affect us).&nbsp; Or, they're things we purposefully identify, take seriously and then remove.</p> <p>So, what now?</p> <p>Now, I guess, I go find her, and find out what going on.&nbsp; Maybe walk with her for a couple of blocks.&nbsp; If I can, I'll get invited into her kitchen or get her into a <em>Tim Horton</em>'s - someplace she'll feel safe enough to talk at length.&nbsp; Does she have a quality world picture of learning to read?&nbsp; What is it?&nbsp; What would work?&nbsp; What would my helping look like if she could design her own learning process?</p> <p>And UVic will have to decide what they want to do about me - that's outside of my control right now.</p> <p>Though I hope they let me in.</p> <p>There are issues in adult education I'd really like to talk to somebody about.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <blockquote> <p>Like Louis and I, they are uncertain that they want to go back to school. They know they risk ridicule and failure and being harshly judged - not because they are "educationally disadvantaged adults" but because that's the nature of school. In addition, unlike Louis and I, many have children in their care. Family responsibilities, as well as chronically poor health and a shaky socio-economic situation, make a mockery of intentions to attend regularly in a good frame of mind over an extended period.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - <a href="http://wendell-communitylit.blogspot.ca/2010/10/on-retention-of-adult-learners.html">On the retention of adult learners</a> (Oct. 2010)</p></blockquote> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-_CApYV2R14w/UB6lMDOlz7I/AAAAAAAAF7s/7by4h9izvYY/s1600-h/meeting%252520them%252520where%252520they%252520are%25255B10%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="meeting them where they are" alt="meeting them where they are" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-eGu5sDfMMcg/UB6lMmXZZyI/AAAAAAAAF70/l-ZXR3Emz1U/meeting%252520them%252520where%252520they%252520are_thumb%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="192" height="84"></a></p> Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-75068849921712367952012-08-05T11:43:00.001-03:002012-08-05T11:49:21.264-03:00The employment - education disconnect<h4><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-2FetQ8lXWUM/UB6GgTEh2YI/AAAAAAAAF50/31Jfb9cZ7kU/s1600-h/Alberta%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="Alberta" alt="Alberta" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/--Oxnq_2-U0U/UB6GhTV4S4I/AAAAAAAAF58/ZKNyH235Lb0/Alberta_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="420" height="252"></a></h4> <p>I came across two stories online this morning related to the twin themes of employment and education.</p> <p>1.&nbsp; In New Brunswick, we often use Alberta as our example of a working economy - something slightly disturbing given that province's environmental record and NB's own flirtation with oil and gas extraction as a substitute for our failing fishing and forestry sectors.</p> <p>But if Alberta's ruling class (and their friends in Ottawa) have their way, it may not be the land of high wages for much longer.&nbsp; The Alberta Federation of Labour’s Tony Clark has a guest post on The <a href="http://www.progressive-economics.ca/">Progress Economics Forum</a> titled <a href="http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2012/08/04/alberta-bogus-labour-shortage/">Alberta’s Bogus Labour Shortage</a>.&nbsp; In it he gives an overview of the province's re-working of projected labours stats to predict a looming storage:</p> <blockquote> <p>The Alberta Federation of Labour <a href="http://www.afl.org/index.php/Press-Release/alberta-relying-of-bogus-labour-shortage-figures.html">took a long hard look</a> at the Government of Alberta’s projections showing an astronomical labour shortage of 114,000 workers by 2021 and found them to be based on misleading methods. <p>Instead of a straightforward calculation of demand for labour minus supply of labour, with a shortage occurring when total demand exceeds total supply, Alberta used a strange formula that subtracts the annual change in demand from the annual change in supply. <p>The result: even though the <a href="http://employment.alberta.ca/documents/occupational-demand-and-supply-outlook.pdf">Alberta government’s projections</a> show the supply of labour exceeding demand (a labour surplus, one would think) for every year through 2021, their strange method shows a labour shortage. <p>What’s more, the government accumulated these phony yearly labour shortages up to 2021 to show a “cumulative shortage” of 114,000 workers even though this supposed shortfall would be captured in the following year’s demand. Put another way: one vacant job over ten years is still one vacant job, not 10 as the Alberta government would have us believe.</p></blockquote> <p>Mr. Clark observed that Alberta's poor math nicely justifies Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney steps to <a href="http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2012/2012-07-16.asp">expand</a> the "Temporary Foreign Worker pilot program whereby employers won’t have to consider hiring Canadians in certain occupations first before turning to offshore labour."&nbsp; Meanwhile, "anti-union interests in the province" have been using "the government’s faulty labour shortage figures to call for <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2012/03/01/edmonton-business-.html">radical changes to labour markets</a> with the end goal of <a href="http://www.afl.org/index.php/Press-Release/alberta-workers-protest-jason-kenneys-paycheque-rip-off.html">depressing wages in the oil sands</a>." <p>There is more to this article, as well as a couple of notable comments: I would encourage anyone trying to sort the politics from the jobs in Canada's economy to go to the original post; and, indeed, to vist the PEF frequently. <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-PEs7C1c_wXs/UB6GhwqBfnI/AAAAAAAAF6E/YbdJudlD2Sw/s1600-h/alberta%252520too%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="alberta too" alt="alberta too" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-QWP_nb9gswQ/UB6GiLhPwJI/AAAAAAAAF6M/N_299aXyuMw/alberta%252520too_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="240" height="157"></a> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>2.&nbsp; Meanwhile, south of the border, the <a href="http://www.cepr.net/">Center for Economic and Policy Research</a> published, in July of this year, <a href="http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/where-have-all-the-good-jobs-gone">a study</a> showing the US workers are better educated than they were 30 or 40 years ago, but have less opportunity to get a good job.&nbsp; In their abstract or synopsis, John Schmitt and Janelle Jones write:</p> <blockquote> <p>The U.S. workforce is substantially older and better-educated than it was at the end of the 1970s. The typical worker in 2010 was seven years older than in 1979. In 2010, over one-third of US workers had a four-year college degree or more, up from just one-fifth in 1979. Given that older and better-educated workers generally receive higher pay and better benefits, we would have expected the share of “good jobs” in the economy to have increased in line with improvements in the quality of workforce. Instead, the share of “good jobs” in the U.S. economy has actually fallen. The estimates in this paper, which control for increases in age and education of the population, suggest that relative to 1979 the economy has lost about one-third (28 to 38 percent) of its capacity to generate good jobs. The data show only minor differences between 2007, before the Great Recession began, and 2010, the low point for the labor market. The deterioration in the economy's ability to generate good jobs reflects long-run changes in the U.S. economy, not short-run factors related to the recession or recent economic policy.</p></blockquote> <p>The full report is available <a href="http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/where-have-all-the-good-jobs-gone">here</a>.</p> <p>What is interesting to me is what this says about the future of Canada.&nbsp; I began this post by noting that New Brunswickers often look to Alberta as a place to get a good job (if not exactly a model for healthy economic development).&nbsp; For their part, Albertans - and their friends in Ottawa - often look to the U.S. for their model of how to grow an economy. <p>But if Tony Clark and the CEPR study are correct, wages and job opportunities are shrinking - and are going to continue to shrink - across North America, leaving us with Ian Welsh's <a href="http://www.ianwelsh.net/the-musical-chairs-economy/">musical chairs economy</a>: <blockquote> <p>So, there will be recessions and non-recessions (amidst what is an ongoing long Depression).&nbsp; And in each recession those who fail to grab a chair will be cast out into the dispossessed.&nbsp; Those who keep their chairs will be allowed to keep some facsimile of the “American lifestyle”.</p></blockquote> <p>And, by the way, <a href="http://wendell-communitylit.blogspot.ca/2011/08/im-not-employment-counselor.html">education</a>&nbsp;<a href="http://wendell-communitylit.blogspot.ca/2011/12/not-literacy-more-and-better-jobs.html">can't do a thing about it</a> (except, of course, allow a handful of individuals to stave off the worst for a few more years). <p>Well… unless we start talking seriously about voter education. <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-FM73x7ERjvE/UB6Gi-IiueI/AAAAAAAAF6U/u5x-bLV4vds/s1600-h/into%252520the%252520storm%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="into the storm" alt="into the storm" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-N0L_qOszsqY/UB6Gje8HuJI/AAAAAAAAF6c/0DgwyjE12uc/into%252520the%252520storm_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="240" height="160"></a> Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-90210741445102977882012-08-01T20:36:00.001-03:002012-08-05T20:23:17.250-03:00Literacy (and life) is more than workplace essential skills<p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-50DhxDMbjXM/UBm9dNF3aHI/AAAAAAAAF48/SmUa2n3hBpQ/s1600-h/AFunctionalLiteracySTJune2007%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="AFunctionalLiteracySTJune2007" alt="AFunctionalLiteracySTJune2007" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-vmSiZgMdw9A/UBm9dgmwvhI/AAAAAAAAF5E/NJgHJr1grFs/AFunctionalLiteracySTJune2007_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="420" height="219"></a></p> <p><u>- Up-dated Aug. 3rd -</u></p> <p>I spotted this on a site I often visit for comment on larger and smaller events in US politics and culture:</p> <blockquote> <p>People have <a href="http://www.eschatonblog.com/2012/07/blaming-poors-gets-old-after-awhile.html">a lot of stupid ideas</a> about the vast riches that recipients of disability, or welfare, or SSI have to roll in, but the thing that gets me is that you don't have to press too hard to get these people to tell you that they assume those recipients are precisely the people they wouldn't want to hire and sure don't want to work <i>with</i>. If you really think someone is lazy, shiftless, a doddering old fool or whatever other stereotype you impart to "losers", there's no way you want them working with you. "They don't want to work," you hear them say, and when they insist that such people should just "get a job," well, what do they think such people could contribute to their workplace? What I know is that the world is full of people who <i>don't</i> fare well in the workplace, who are inept at office politics, don't have whatever attitude is fashionable at the moment, don't even know how to dress the part, and though they may be very bright indeed, they end up losing jobs because they simply don't fit in. And the people who force them out of those jobs don't seem to worry much about where they will go next. To another place where they are unwanted? To a cardboard box in the sewers? To <i>your</i> office? Whether they are bright but inept at the office game or simply lazy people who "don't want to work", just what is the virtue of torturing them and those around them by forcing them to search for jobs they will function poorly at and ultimately lose? Personally, it seems to me that in an ideal world, it would be a jolly good thing to have the government pay people who can't function in the workplace to stay out of the way of those who are trying to get things done. Who knows, maybe if they had a guaranteed living income and could just sit around reading or playing games on their own, they could come up with some bright idea that would create jobs for other people who, you know, want to work. Hell, the worst that could happen is that a bunch of "losers" would be spending money in the economy and creating demand.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://sideshow.me.uk/saug12.htm#12071750">Avedon Carol at The Sideshow, August 2012</a> </p></blockquote> <p>Somewhere in all that is an idea very close to one that's been bouncing about in my head for about 18 months.&nbsp; As a question, it would be something like, "What do I do with the adults who enter my class with the stated goal of improving their skills and finding a job, but also with visible mental or physical health, cognitive, age-related or socio-cultural barriers?&nbsp; What do I say to the family member or institution that referred them (sometimes under threat of withdrawn support)?"&nbsp; A related question would be, "Where, in our cities, are such people allowed to live and, in their own way, contribute, unhounded by do-gooders and bullies?"&nbsp; I'm sorry that these are impolite questions.&nbsp; I assure you they are real ones that are asked frequently when facilitators speak privately with one another.</p> <p>A former mayor of Saint John gave a speech at a <a href="http://wendell-communitylit.blogspot.ca/2008/01/mind-learns-when-body-heals.html">literacy funder raiser</a> wherein, after praising the GED-bound learners for their progress, he said he wanted to make sure people knew there was a place for everybody in Saint John, including those who never obtain a GED.&nbsp; It was a wonderful, heart-warming thing to say, and I believe he meant it.&nbsp; But here's the thing…</p> <p>Here's the thing.</p> <p>I don't think he meant that there was a place for everyone in Saint John's employment rolls.&nbsp; I don't think he meant everybody gets to have a job.&nbsp; Well, he couldn't have.&nbsp; There aren't enough jobs to go around.&nbsp; Even factoring in fly-by-night commission jobs and out-bound telesales jobs, we're short by a factor of ten.</p> <p>A place for everyone.</p> <p>So fund literacy, yes.&nbsp; By all means.&nbsp; But understand that <em>literacy</em> means reading and writing and numbers, and some information about geography and politics and science and the human body, and maybe some basic life skills like using a computer or a cellphone or operating other household machinery or making soup from scratch or some such.&nbsp; Don't fund literacy if you think you're funding a some kind of finishing school for potential employees or a welfare to work scheme - unless, of course, you're going to give me several million dollars yearly so I actually can employ people. </p> <p>And come to my class to learn, yes.&nbsp; By all means.&nbsp; As long as, together, we are making progress - and as long as some part of society is willing to foot the bill for this open-ended learning (because I have to pay the rent) - you are welcome to learn as much and as long as you wish.&nbsp; But if you want a job, well… I wish you all the success in the world.&nbsp; But I'm not an employment counsellor, I have no special skills or insights into successful job hunting, and I am not prepared to invest time or energy toward your job search.*</p> <p>Support for improved adult literacy is <em>not</em> a poverty reduction strategy.&nbsp; High rates of unemployment are not caused by insufficient education.&nbsp; Moreover, the idea of a job for everyone is both silly and - when used punitively - irresponsible.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-W5tc5tJQdUQ/UBm9fDKlr6I/AAAAAAAAF5M/ELEPCqP-dVM/s1600-h/great-depression-unemployment-line%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="great-depression-unemployment-line" alt="great-depression-unemployment-line" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-G7N_KJdI_SY/UBm9fjIHdUI/AAAAAAAAF5U/qV4Vg0r3KnU/great-depression-unemployment-line_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="240" height="177"></a></p> <p>*Here I draw a distinction between, for example, someone who wants to <em>learn</em> how to read a job board or make a resume and cover letter, and someone who wants <em>me to tell them</em> which jobs are good jobs and what they should say on their resume and cover letter to get one.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Up-date: Yeah, but no</strong></p> <p>A compassionate commenter wrote "I agree Wendell that there are not jobs for everyone, and of course, there are some folks that unfortunately no one would ever hire. On the other hand, there are lots of great people who I would hire in a minute if they were literate enough to work in my office."</p> <p>But I'm sure that's not true.&nbsp; The Government of New Brunswick has a hiring freeze on.&nbsp; The civil service is not taking on "lots of great people" right now.&nbsp; So, no, this person wouldn't hire "lots of great people" no matter how literate they were.&nbsp; If my whole class obtained their PhDs, they still wouldn't get a job in this office until a job opens up.</p> <p>Now, what she means is that if she <em>could</em> hire them - if jobs opportunities appeared - she would hire them, if only their skills were up to par.&nbsp; But if we are going to hypothesize that there are jobs opening up, why not also hypothesize that these people receive solid in-house training and rise to the occasion?</p> <p>I'm not being bloody-minded and contrarian here.&nbsp; I'm saying that it is - at best - dishonest to say to someone, "I'd hire you if you were more literate," when, in truth, you wouldn't hire these person no matter what their skills because your budget does not allow it.</p> <p>When I graduated, NB was moving into a recession and many in my class had a hard time finding work.&nbsp; At a certain point in this process (and as Frank McKenna became our premier) talk radio programs explained that the reason for our unemployment was our lack of skills suitable to the "new" workplace.&nbsp; Meanwhile, an awful lot of my friends and neighbours moved out to Alberta where they quickly secured jobs.&nbsp; Most of these are looking toward retirement now, having had steady, well-paid employment over the past three decades.&nbsp; In NB, we silly sods who stayed behind are still talking about how to reskill our work force so they can finally get all those hypothetical jobs.&nbsp; Indeed, my commenter tells this story:</p> <blockquote> <p>My nephew, who has not finished high school, could not earn enough here in NB to live on. He went to Alberta where the labour market is tight and is making $35/hour. He has had a number of jobs in the last 9 months, each one better than the last. AND, his employers have been willing to put him in the apprenticeship program. In NB the apprenticeship program wouldn't touch him.</p></blockquote> <p>But none of that yet touches upon the other problem - the one I've been trying to sort out and articulate - about finding a place in our community and lives for folks we know aren't going to find conventional jobs; people with mental health issues, for example, or chronic pain issues, or addiction issues.&nbsp; With September around the corner, lots of adults will choose to try out an adult education class.&nbsp; Some will be encouraged by friends and support workers who will dangle make-believe well-paid, lasting jobs in front of them.</p> <p>I can help these people learn to read better, or come to enjoy mathematics, or get a handle on basic computing.&nbsp; But - with one or two exceptions - that won't really change their dependence on the state or charity organizations for their income, housing, clothing and food.&nbsp; And it will - and this is a <em>very</em> harsh thing to say - take a seat and opportunity away from someone who could end up better off economically if they upgraded their skills.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>"What is sad to me," my commenter wrote, "is the assumption that is often made that there is something 'wrong' with people who struggle with literacy and learning."</p> <p>I hear you.&nbsp; But what is frustrating for me is the assumption that is often made that literacy and learning are all that is 'wrong' with people who struggle with poor health and poverty.</p> Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-66017231638508079352012-07-28T12:30:00.001-03:002012-07-28T12:30:02.406-03:00Updates<p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-kYZyjhTAdrs/UBQFcsoFPDI/AAAAAAAAF4E/I5Wvn_aQbjk/s1600-h/beginnings%25255B40%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="beginnings" alt="beginnings" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-UWdLsYyF8jU/UBQFdNmARSI/AAAAAAAAF4M/6S4dE0Tuu18/beginnings_thumb%25255B38%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="436" height="158"></a></p> <blockquote> <p align="left">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There is no other justification for an <em>acte gratuit</em>.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - M. Herzog, <em>Annapurna</em></p></blockquote> <p>Today I mailed my application for admission to Unv. Vic's Certificate in Adult and Continuing Education (CACE) Program.</p> <p>I decided to try it out for a variety of reasons.&nbsp; I'm hearing that distance education isn't quite as chaotic and discouraging as it used to be.&nbsp; I have a friend and co-worker to take the course with me (and blame it on if it all goes wrong).&nbsp; I've got the funds.&nbsp; I'm not really employable anymore with just High School.&nbsp; And, mostly, I'm interested in what the content of the course consists of.&nbsp; (Think of it as ethnomethodology.)&nbsp; In any case, this kind of adventure seems commonplace among my learners.&nbsp; So why not me? </p> <p>In other news, we're starting the 5th week of our summer Storytent program.&nbsp; I've some stories from that I want to share.&nbsp; Soon.&nbsp; I'm still facilitating an evening class twice weekly with a range of learners (some working on basic literacy, some prepping to enter NB Community College).&nbsp; I'm been doing some computer hardware/software learning - ooh! And I bought a new laptop!&nbsp; I was going to wait until spring, but I wanted to get in before Windows 8 became the default OS, which is likely to happen this fall, so….</p> <p>Of course, the big news is Kate Nonesuch's blog <a href="http://katenonesuch.com/">Working in Adult Literacy</a>. </p> <p>She's been telling interesting and important stories.&nbsp; Go there.&nbsp; Read.&nbsp; Comment.&nbsp; Check in often.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-EwGtA5icpYQ/UBQFd4OYaxI/AAAAAAAAF4U/XmAMwQdwCTY/s1600-h/title04%25255B24%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="title04" alt="title04" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-LKLzOYk3WKU/UBQFeUeA_dI/AAAAAAAAF4c/5nNC4BBSGQk/title04_thumb%25255B22%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="380" height="157"></a></p> Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-30043118604531570742012-06-29T12:07:00.001-03:002012-06-29T14:32:32.406-03:00Low literacy is not to blame for bad business choices<p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-eqb7Y0WHIDQ/T-3EqjqHbDI/AAAAAAAAF2A/WWz9FeQhD7Q/s1600-h/saint%252520john%2525202012%252520r4%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="saint john 2012 r4" alt="saint john 2012 r4" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-AEyXLGP4O30/T-3ErI4_o9I/AAAAAAAAF2I/Uxc_8Licxrw/saint%252520john%2525202012%252520r4_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="161"></a></p> <p>My next post was going to be about a <em>Telegraph Journal</em> column by David Campbell on adult literacy and the economy. It was in the business section, and it said what always gets said - ie, NBer's don't read well enough and that's why nobody can make a buck around here.&nbsp; But, well….</p> <p>I got up a little late this morning, pulled up the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2012/06/29/nb-saint-john-north-end-homeless-739.html">CBC news</a> online, and read about an apartment building that had been overcome by a stiff rain:</p> <blockquote> <p>Five adults and seven children in Saint John are homeless after their north-end apartment building was declared unsafe following several days of heavy rain.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; In a neighbourhood where buildings are often damaged by fire, it was the rain that forced three families out of their homes this week.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Several days of wet weather caused a buildup of water, which damaged the building's electricity.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; The Saint John Fire Department decided the apartment building was no longer safe and shut off the power. The three families were forced to move into a hotel.</p></blockquote> <p>I skipped breakfast, running late, because I wanted to get uptown before the heat and do some banking.&nbsp; Despite their promise, <em>Bayview Credit Union</em>, <a href="http://wendell-communitylit.blogspot.ca/2010/07/financial-literacy-when-no-means-maybe.html">once again</a>, refused me access to my money.&nbsp; That was last weekend and, since I work long days most days, I couldn't get in to talk to them until today. Over time, I decided it was best not to talk to them at all: I'd just pull out a wad of cash and open an account across the street at <em>Scotia Bank</em>. Alas, the <em>Bank of Nova Scotia</em> doesn't open before 10 in the morning.&nbsp; I walked down the hill to the <em>Toronto Dominion Bank</em> and half-heartedly stuck my head in. It was open, but full of two dozen customers and only two clerks.&nbsp; Anyway, they've been paying Frank McKenna big money to tour about and insult NB literacy workers (<a href="http://wendell-communitylit.blogspot.ca/2009/09/bookwagon.html">e.g</a>).</p> <p>Back up the hill I trudged, past people lined up outside <em>Scotia Bank</em>, and on to <em>Cora's</em>.&nbsp; I was thinking I'd have breakfast - you remember I hadn't had it yet - and then stop by the bank.&nbsp; Sadly, <em>Cora's</em> was also over-busy and under-staffed.&nbsp; I waited about 10 minutes at the head of the restaurant (they have a 'please wait to be seated' policy) watching the busboy clear, wipe and reset tables up by the windows. While I was waiting, somebody scooped ice from a nearby ice machine.&nbsp; A stray ice cube skittered out into the main aisle.&nbsp; She eyed it for a moment, and then walked away.&nbsp; I eyed it too, thinking that after it melted a little, somebody was going to step on it and have a nasty fall. I hoped they weren't holding a pot of hot coffee right then.&nbsp; Finally, a waitress yelled "How many?" across the restaurant at me.&nbsp; I held up one finger.&nbsp; She tossed a menu into a booth and said "There you go," walking away.&nbsp; "I'd like a table," I shouted after her, thinking I'd like a coffee, too. (Most booths don't work with my back.)&nbsp; "By the window?" she asked.&nbsp; "Sure," I said, assuming she was offering me a window seat.&nbsp; "Well," she grumped, "you'll have to go back and wait because I'll have to clear one." Never caring to eat where the people who make my meals are pissed off at me, I demurred and wandered off home.</p> <p>"Screw it," I thought. "I'll go down to the convenience store and get a loaf of bread, some bacon and eggs, and cook my own breakfast." (The mixed commercial and residential center of Saint John, where I live, doesn't have a grocery store - or a department store, or a hardware store, though we do have 26 bars.)&nbsp; But, no.&nbsp; The convenience store didn't have eggs. Or bread. "Well, there's the stuff in the video room in back," he said.&nbsp; But that's the mouldy stuff he sells for a dollar.&nbsp; I'm not that desperate, yet.&nbsp; I just plodded home, made a coffee, and carried my laundry across the street to start my weekend chores.&nbsp; That means that in 2 hours I engaged in exactly $2 worth of economic activity.</p> <p>(Did I mention the families who had to move because it rained?)</p> <p>I swear.</p> <p>If today, someone in a suit tells me the problem with Saint John's economy is that people aren't literate enough, I'm going to punch them out.</p> Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-72325800870738585562012-06-03T11:29:00.001-03:002012-06-03T11:29:55.512-03:00From Mary Nanninga and Education News Colorado<p><a href="http://www.ednewscolorado.org/"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="enc" alt="enc" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-OBgLqmDsCEA/T8t0vURjSkI/AAAAAAAAF10/pYmtrbm6srg/enc%25255B6%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="156"></a></p> <p>I never do this, but I'm going to lift a comment wholesale out of a <a href="http://www.ednewscolorado.org/2012/01/29/32022-commentary-todays-miracles-tomorrows-letdowns">discussion</a> on the sudden rise and fall of newly-succeeding schools.&nbsp; This is Mary Nanninga writing in the comment thread of an <em><a href="http://www.ednewscolorado.org/">Education News Colorado</a></em> post on February 5, 2012:</p> <blockquote> <p>Joanne, no, what I have is subjective information. I knew a couple of teachers from Bessemer, and they transferred out, due to the excessive test prep environment. As someone who has worked in a low scoring school for ten years, I know to be very suspicious if scores dramatically rise, then fall. Either it’s test-prep-to death-then-quit, or maybe, I hate to say it, someone could have been less than honest? We’ve had cheating scandals in a lot of places, so I don’t know….</p> <p>Hi Mark. I’m sure that as a teacher you’ve read all the reasons why poverty matters, and I actually wrote quite a bit about it in the VAM thread, so I won’t bore you with it here, nor will I make myself type it all again. But I do have a perspective as a reading teacher for low-performing kids in poverty:</p> <p>There are two things to remember about learning to read–the first thing is that we are actually programmed to do this between the ages of 4 and 9. We’re hardwired to acquire literacy at that time. The second thing to remember is that kids in poverty have all the disadvantages you already know about, but they have some you may not realize.</p> <p>So, we’re hardwired to learn to read and write between 4 and 9 (or 4 and 11, depends upon who you read). But anyway, if we’re adequately prepared and given really just enough instruction (which isn’t worksheets and it isn’t programs–it’s reading self-selected, level-appropriate material AND being read to daily), most kids will learn to read pretty well and pretty naturally. You can do phonics, and that’s great, but the main thing is that kids need access to a wide range of literature, and they need time to explore and discover it. This is true for middle class as well as poor children, as poor children aren’t stupid, just disadvantaged.</p> <p>A very few children will present with reading disorders, but most poor readers are poor readers because they don’t practice.</p> <p>But for kids in poverty, these things like being read to don’t always line up, for myriad reasons. Middle class kids get read to a lot by the adults in their lives; kids in poverty don’t. We know that being read to is very important. It’s estimated that at the start of kindergarten, in order to be a successful beginning reader, a child needs to have been read to a MINIMUM of 3000 hours. They typical child in poverty has been read to only 15 hours. The result is that these children have very limited vocabularies, and the result of THAT is that we are actually limited in the thoughts we can even think if we don’t have words. (The reason you don’t have memories that begin before the age of 2 1/2 or 3, the reason you can’t remember being an infant, is because it takes language to form memories). It’s hard to learn new concepts and think about new things if you’re largely without words. And it’s especially hard to understand what you’re reading, even if you decode decently (which is why phonics-heavy programs don’t help kids in poverty much). I once heard a reading specialist speak and she was talking about reading Three Billy Goats Gruff to an impoverished kindergarten class. At the end of the story, she realized that over half the children had no idea what a bridge was, even though they crossed two every morning to get to school!</p> <p>Whether it’s due to poverty alone, or poverty issues compounded by ELL issues, lack of vocabulary just kills young readers. Children in poverty arrive at school with extremely limited vocabularies, which also hurts them in every other subject. Teachers know that kids need to be able to “hook” new information to established background schema and vocabulary, but children in poverty have neither, so they learn less.</p> <p>Also remember that kids in poverty move a lot, and miss a lot of school and when they’re not at school they’re not reading and they’re not learning.</p> <p>So anyway, if you don’t read well, you don’t test well in any subject, even the one or two you might be good at, because the problem with tests is that they’re all READING tests. All of them–math, science, social studies, even the driver’s test. If you can’t read the test questions accurately and well enough, you’re not going to do too well on the test. Is it angle or angel? Is it then or than? Where or were? Though or thought or through?</p> <p>So these kids miss a lot of school and move a lot and no one reads to them and they don’t practice on their own (and you can take THAT to the bank) and all of a sudden, they hit puberty and the plasticity of the brain changes, and now learning to read is a lot harder. It’s not impossible, not by any means, but it’s not an easy thing anymore. You and I barely remember learning to read. One day, we just could, or at least that’s my sense of it. That didn’t happen for a lot of these kids and now it’s a chore that often doesn’t get done because now they’ve fallen behind in school and the reading, especially in high school, is just too hard. I teach, by choice, all below level readers in a middle school, and I have eighth graders all over the place who are reading at a third grade level because of some of these issues, and by eighth grade, they are OVER IT. The reading thing is just too hard, and no fun at all. So they avoid it even more steadfastly.</p> <p>That’s why third grade reading scores are so important. If you’re a low reader in third and fourth grade, research says you likely will never be a good reader, and low reading levels in these grades is correlated with a higher than average risk of dropping out of school.</p> <p>So Mark, that’s what happens when you ask me a question. You get more than you probably wanted, but that’s the long buildup to my short answer:</p> <p>No, the tests do not show learning in high poverty schools, because the learning that is taking place isn’t measured so much by tests and high poverty schools have a much higher number of below level readers, due to the conditions of poverty with which everyone is familiar, and some reading information that many are not. And high income schools have much better readers, for the same reasons, therefore they learn more in school and are easier to teach, they can read the test with relative ease, and their scores reflect this.</p></blockquote> <p>There are lots of bits and pieces I disagree with here.</p> <p>Ms. Nanninga's careless "kids in poverty move a lot, and miss a lot of school and when they’re not at school they’re not reading and they’re not learning" suggests a pretty blinkered notion of "learning" and a startling disregard of family.&nbsp; It seems to me unlikely that the "typical child in poverty has been read to only 15 hours" before kindergarten; but maybe things really are that different in the States.</p> <p>Too, her school-centric focus might explain some of her challenges with Grade 8 students.&nbsp; By that age - when, she says, "they hit puberty and the plasticity of the brain changes, and now learning to read is a lot harder" - kids are also becoming adults, with an adult's dislike of external control.&nbsp; Maybe their brains don't lose plasticity: maybe they just get big enough and old enough to stop wanting to put up with teacher bullshit.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.proteacher.org/org/a/79186_writer%27s_workshop.html">Elsewhere</a> she writes (maybe of younger children):</p> <blockquote> <p>You also need to make kids accountable in Reader's Workshop for what they've accomplished every day. They need to write down how many pages they read today, their response to the reading (NOT a summary) and one interesting word they discovered in their reading today. You must either grade these, or let the kids think you'll be grading them.</p></blockquote> <p>Yeah, that's a winner: let the little twerps "think you'll be grading them" or they'll never do anything worthwhile.&nbsp; So much for co-construction, self-directed learning and the joy of reading.&nbsp; If the "reading thing is just too hard, and no fun at all" for eighth graders, maybe it's time to look at the content and context a little more critically.</p> <p>But never mind all that.&nbsp; She makes many insightful and important points (in my perception), and it's quite possible that she's right and I'm wrong about these other things.&nbsp; I'd encourage you to go read the full conversation under Holly Yettick's <a href="http://www.ednewscolorado.org/2012/01/29/32022-commentary-todays-miracles-tomorrows-letdowns">Today’s miracles usually fade</a>, Education News Colorado Jan 2012.</p> Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-26683006000689943122012-06-02T23:50:00.001-03:002012-06-02T23:57:08.260-03:00When community literacy is personal - Book Town, St. Martins<p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-nt0yrLJgAZI/T8rQ2l9RRbI/AAAAAAAAFzc/k1_-_EXnBpA/s1600-h/showcase%252520st%252520martins%25255B7%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="showcase st martins" alt="showcase st martins" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-FF3FeMc3Gy8/T8rQ3fgKicI/AAAAAAAAFzk/GqvM1oFWfpg/showcase%252520st%252520martins_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="419" height="204"></a></p> <p>We spent a wonderful Saturday out in St. Martins, a small coast side community an hour's drive from Saint John.&nbsp; They were holding their third annual <em>Showcase St. Martins</em>, a chamber of commerce type event to promote and draw people into the village.&nbsp; We had been invited to bring the Storytent in support of their <em>Book Town</em> initiative.</p> <p>Event tents are frequently high-effort, low-reward affairs.&nbsp; They are useful for promotion and networking - as a step in the building of something - but they do only a limited amount of good.&nbsp; We were on hand for four hours, during which time we met 6 families and read to, or provided a reading opportunity for, 9 kids.&nbsp; We were just slightly less popular than the brand new fire engine placed proudly on display out front&nbsp; As event tents go, that was pretty typical.</p> <p>But I was glad we went because we met some people with literacy concerns who were feeling pretty isolated.&nbsp; Our contact began about a month ago when volunteers at their small community library were looking for a home for an overflow of books.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-g6HSuNp-3jk/T8rQ3xZQj5I/AAAAAAAAFzs/uf-trn77uAI/s1600-h/Carson%252520Library%2525203%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="Carson Library 3" alt="Carson Library 3" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-j2JkwiMrcLE/T8rQ4ejqOvI/AAAAAAAAFz0/KZOYF8r4GvI/Carson%252520Library%2525203_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="240" height="91"></a></p> <p>"How come, when I called Fredericton," our host Jackie Bartlett asked, "they didn't tell me about you?"</p> <p>"Who did you talk to?" we asked.</p> <p>She said she called <em>Literacy New Brunswick</em>.&nbsp; "Do you mean the <em><a href="http://www.nb.literacy.ca/">Literacy Coalition of New Brunswick</a></em>?" we asked.&nbsp; "Yes," she said.&nbsp; But, she may have had it right the first time, and ended up talking to somebody with the <a href="http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/post-secondary_education_training_and_labour/training/content/adult_learning/adult_literacy_services.html">province</a>.&nbsp; In either case, no, they probably wouldn't think of us even as a regional resource (though we've supported people from one end of the province to another - the "NB" in our <a href="http://qlnb.blogspot.ca/">name</a> isn't mere vanity).</p> <p>"So," we asked, "how did you get a hold of us?"</p> <p>She said she called the <em><a href="http://www1.gnb.ca/0003/library.asp?Code=FE">East Branch</a></em> of the <em>Saint John Regional Library</em>, and they put her on to us.&nbsp; From there, somehow, they got the idea of bringing out the storytent.&nbsp; (I fear they may have mistaken us for the kind of popular children's entertainers who can draw a crowd.)</p> <p>"We have a literacy problem," Jackie said, and talked a little about what the village was doing to encourage reading.&nbsp; Originally - and some of this I'm taking from the web - their <em>Book Town</em> initiative focused on adding books to the village's commercial establishments.&nbsp; For example, Jackie created a shop focusing on mystery novels above her tea room.&nbsp; A same-minded campground owner began stocking camping and adventure books.&nbsp; A local artist hosted books on arts and crafts.&nbsp; In 2007, the village convinced the New Brunswick Legislature to proclaim St. Martins "New Brunswick's official Book town."&nbsp; By now, there are about a dozen booksellers in the village.&nbsp; But our host told us their dream is to be more than booksellers.&nbsp; They would like to see free books available "in every little inn and shop" in St. Martins.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-3x9cq1nIX4Q/T8rQ5GOfWYI/AAAAAAAAFz8/ndzVwA0zQFI/s1600-h/Betty%252520the%252520Librarian%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="" alt="" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-SoR8rftZc6o/T8rQ55Igr4I/AAAAAAAAF0E/i1Jkc5EASX0/Betty%252520the%252520Librarian_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="240" height="180"></a></p> <p>Later, we met Betty, the town's chief volunteer librarian.&nbsp; A school secretary, she'd been more or less shanghaied into the librarian job.&nbsp; Her mother was a professional librarian, and her father founded the <em>Quaco Historical &amp; Library Society</em>. </p> <p>According to their <a href="http://www.quaco.ca/QuacoHistoricalSociety.htm">webpage</a>, the Historical &amp; Library Society was founded, in 1971, by a small group of residents around a kitchen table.</p> <blockquote> <p>[They] agreed that their Society should promote an interest in the history of the Quaco-St. Martins area in New Brunswick and to create a museum and archives to preserve its artifacts and documents. They also decided to establish a general literature library to serve their community.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-TRMjmq5QPy4/T8rQ7Lg7VsI/AAAAAAAAF0M/Cn4qh9pcCWk/s1600-h/libraryStMartins1%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="libraryStMartins1" alt="libraryStMartins1" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-MtL3LxoMgnU/T8rQ8N7kXBI/AAAAAAAAF0U/KregcvOzfRA/libraryStMartins1_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="364" height="300"></a></p> <p>The <a href="http://www.quaco.ca/QuacoLibrary.htm">library</a> they describe as "a light-hearted, volunteer-run community library with an amazing selection of popular and classic novels, non-fiction titles and reference works. We are especially proud of our children’s section. New books and the classics get equal shelf space."</p> <p>Personally, I'm impressed by how "professional" it looks.&nbsp; (You could eat off that floor.)&nbsp; But Betty's most proud of something else.&nbsp; One day, she told us, someone said to her, "Oh Betty, you have made this place where people can come and get together and talk."</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-n7lx-RBCev8/T8rQ8kT8b7I/AAAAAAAAF0c/uh4G1dtqhuA/s1600-h/When%252520I%252520was%252520Small%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="When I was Small" alt="When I was Small" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-EVi6vDOF6Zg/T8rQ9N0LcgI/AAAAAAAAF0k/etXQlCc4pOs/When%252520I%252520was%252520Small_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="171" height="240"></a></p> <p>We met other people.&nbsp; Local children's author Sara O'Leary dropped by (before heading off to volunteer duties at the library).&nbsp; We met the <em>St. Martins &amp; District Chamber of Commerce</em> president, Kathy Miller-Zinn.&nbsp; I didn't see any provincial or federal representatives; but, then, there was a lady out front collecting signatures on a petition protesting the EI changes, so, maybe it was all for the best.</p> <p>Anyway, like I said, they were interested in talking about literacy and books.&nbsp; I think maybe they were pleased to have a chance to do some justified bragging.&nbsp; But they were also isolated from the larger New Brunswick literacy community.&nbsp; Of course, that's partly because there <em>isn't</em> any larger New Brunswick literacy community - especially for people doing community based literacy work. Our province has some shaky adult literacy and early childhood literacy networks of a sort, but there is no organized support for community literacy.</p> <p>And yet, what could be more natural than organizing literacy efforts around geographic locations?&nbsp; You can't do community literacy work from an office in Fredericton, I grumbled to my colleague.</p> <p> "You can't really do community literacy work unless it's personal," she said.&nbsp; She reminded me how often we had talked about feeling like Crescent Valley was home to us, even though we lived elsewhere.&nbsp; "It's our community - we're part of it.&nbsp; It's personal."</p> <p>I don't know when or if we'll get out to St. Martins again.&nbsp; They really don't need us, and we'll only ever be visitors from outside.&nbsp; But I wouldn't mind a chance to sit around one of those kitchen tables and listen to them brag a little more.&nbsp;&nbsp; We could help hook them up with the Summer Reading Club program.&nbsp; We might even be able to help them find some other literacy money.&nbsp; On the other hand, a different word for <em>isolated</em> is<em> self-sufficient</em>.&nbsp; In the community literacy field, that's an often overlooked strength. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-2tjgSoqCNpk/T8rQ97SPiSI/AAAAAAAAF0s/pyECHvS0Yhc/s1600-h/St%252520Martins%252520NB%2525202%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="" alt="" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ma_nX9Vp70w/T8rQ-hNl07I/AAAAAAAAF00/uoLt9GYAOtg/St%252520Martins%252520NB%2525202_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="300"></a></p> <p>Quick facts from the web:</p> <p>St. Martins was settled in 1783 by a detachment of the King’s Orange Rangers (Loyalist soldiers from Orange and Duchess Counties, New York). The original name, <em>Quaco</em>, derived from Micmac for “haunt of the hooded seal”.&nbsp; The third largest producer of wooden sailing vessels in NB, the township launched more than 500 vessels over the next 125 years.&nbsp; Today, it is a retirement and tourist destination, with a year-round population of about 400 people.</p> Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-1737028637298415242012-05-31T23:11:00.001-03:002012-05-31T23:18:18.577-03:00Don't give up<p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-bj9TFyOwKM0/T8gk0DWwZII/AAAAAAAAFyY/0Vuvl0eVTl4/s1600-h/night%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="night" alt="night" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-gKqI5qxsbIo/T8gk03ulDaI/AAAAAAAAFyg/5qCu_5UV8TQ/night_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="455" height="267"></a></p> <blockquote> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I've changed my face, I've changed my name<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; but no one wants you when you lose.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - Peter Gabriel, <em>So<br></em></p></blockquote> <p>"How will you know when you're done?" That's a question I often ask my learners. Sometimes they have an answer. Sometimes they don't.</p> <p>This has been another year of young moms. When I think back, different moms stick out for different reasons. One sticks out because of what she helped me learn about myself (although I haven't yet figured how to put it into words).</p> <p>This was a smart, successful young woman who, upon becoming a mom, lost most of her confidence and self-esteem. I recognized the patterns, the signals, from back in the day when I was working with a family resource centre. Don't get me wrong: she loved her little girl like life itself. But the trajectory of her life had collapsed, and she was long done believing she could get it back on track.</p> <p>Some of what we talked about was that: about how you can't go back, but you can build something new and good. Some of what we talked about was math or where commas go and why. I worked really hard at scaffolding, at staying hard inside her instructional level, at listening to her fears without confirming or discounting them. I leaned heavily, as I always do, on my best friend Cheryl's understanding of Choice Theory and adult learning and being a mom. I planned, and made better plans, and brought my <em>A</em> game to almost every class. She worked hard, too. Of course. But that was outside my control. I'm talking here about my own work and worry.</p> <p>When it came time for her to challenge the GED, I was nothing but confident and clear-eyed. (I am an accomplished liar.) There was no doubt at all that she would do well, I told her. At worst, she would flub the essay and we'd fix that with a quick June re-write. For her part, she bought me a very nice card, wrote a "thank you" inside, and disappeared, pale-faced, to write the test.</p> <p>I brought the card home to stick in my inspiration file, but I didn't.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-tHTnja1KvDg/T8gk1AMh4yI/AAAAAAAAFyo/BD7_FMOcFNU/s1600-h/thankstoo%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="thankstoo" alt="thankstoo" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-smgaoSeIEGk/T8gk16mAguI/AAAAAAAAFyw/hpE4M0X8NWM/thankstoo_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="165" height="240"></a></p> <p>I don't know about how it is where you live, but in New Brunswick we wait 4 to 6 weeks for GED results. I think they fly them in from Neptune. Four weeks of waiting and worrying and not thinking, I <em>am</em> not thinking about....</p> <p>And I dunno. It was just a card. It wasn't... enough. It didn't seem like we were done.</p> <p>Then, at last, the marks came. By chance, I was notified a day before she got her envelope, so I knew she passed everything before she told me. Congratulations, her note from the Minister would say. She'd be so happy.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Eq4ybavtgAY/T8gk2efk4rI/AAAAAAAAFy4/0KHsrTMOiS8/s1600-h/feelgood%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="feelgood" alt="feelgood" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-bOVC-RqsoMY/T8gk3ndnCOI/AAAAAAAAFzA/s7dgfEpbjvA/feelgood_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="201" height="184"></a></p> <p>Now <em>that</em> was something worth keeping - the pdf file of her marks! <em>That</em> I printed off and put right up on my fridge. At work, I waited for her phone call.</p> <p>And while I was waiting, I thought, now what?</p> <p>Okay, you've got your GED. But it's not like it comes with a cash award. How was she supposed to go on? If she got brave enough to try college or university, how could she afford it? Would she be able to get a job now? How would she manage childcare? (<font size="2">Who was going to - we'll just whisper this - look out for her self-esteem now that she wasn't my learner anymore?</font>)&nbsp; </p> <p>I took my worry out on Cheryl when we were supposed to be getting ready for Bookwagon - waving my arms and ranting about our lack of an effective, local women's support movement and just generally being in the way as she packed books. <em>Not two weeks ago there were all these women saying we needed to elect women because they were going to somehow support women and now where are those influential and affluent women to stick up for this young mom's who's still trapped without access to adequate daycare or support without going on welfare and then a bunch of women who are caseworkers are just going to tell her what to do while the rest of us say she's no good because, look, she's on welfare but how's she supposed to get a job or an education if she's got to raise her little girl and if she tries to get a student loan she'll be in debt the rest of her life and when she puts her daughter first it's like we say she has to put her daughter last and it just makes me so angry, so angry!</em> (Cheryl, being a trained therapist remained completely calm and said things like, "So, what are you going to do about that?" and "Have you packed the picture books yet?" and "Are you coming with me or what?")</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-26mJJq4Jt3k/T8gk4Zb39TI/AAAAAAAAFzI/g9mtRlFcZTI/s1600-h/thankstoo2%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="thankstoo2" alt="thankstoo2" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-rEyrxdhDQTE/T8gk45glZoI/AAAAAAAAFzQ/DrreRY5ZuKQ/thankstoo2_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="157" height="186"></a></p> <p>Then, the next day, my learner showed up with her little girl. She wanted to show off her certificate. She wanted to say "Thank you" and stuff. She wanted me to know it was a big deal and it all worked out. "So," I timidly asked (because I couldn't think of any way of <em>not</em> asking), "what's next for you?"</p> <p>It was too in the year late for getting into college, she reasoned, "so I'll probably get a job - which I can do with this" (she waved the GED). She reached down for her daughter's hand and said, "We're going places."</p> <p>I don't know how to write this, really. Don't know how to explain her tone. But it was convincing, and brimming with confidence. She <em>knew</em> she was going places! She <em>is</em> going places! It <em>is</em> going to be okay! And my job's done.</p> <p>That's what I felt. A whole bunch of weight came up off my shoulders, and I knew we were done.</p> <p>"I gotta get back in class," I said. Goodbye, goodbye. And that was that.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>What I didn't say was this:</p> <p>Thank you. Thank you for bringing me along with you. Thank you for trusting me and listening to what I said (even when I was wrong). Thanks for believing in me.</p> <p>You go, girl.</p> <p>(We're done, and that's ok.)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <blockquote> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Don't give up, because you have friends.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Don't give up, you're not the only one.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Don't give up.&nbsp; No reason to be ashamed.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Don't give up.&nbsp; You still have us<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Don't give up now.&nbsp; We're proud of who you are.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Don't give up.&nbsp; You know it's never been easy.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Don't give up, because I believe there's a place,<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; there's a place where we belong.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - Peter Gabriel, <em>So</em></p></blockquote> Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36065933.post-89291478114818575722012-05-27T22:21:00.001-03:002012-05-27T22:30:36.136-03:00PRACE Page Turners<p><a href="http://pageturners.prace.vic.edu.au/book-5-4-nedkelly.php"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="s05-nedkelly-cover-pageturners" alt="s05-nedkelly-cover-pageturners" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-GRWsWScfE14/T8LTAe3xsTI/AAAAAAAAFxs/xuZu7jOvGS4/s05-nedkelly-cover-pageturners%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="221" height="300"></a></p> <blockquote> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - G. K. Chesterton</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; dog, it's just too dark to read.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - Groucho Marx</p></blockquote> <p>I got a note from a scholarly sleuth down in Brisbane asking me about the PRACE <em>Page Turners</em> and matters related to reading materials with Australian content for ESL or adult literacy learners.&nbsp; She was wondering how I came across the PRACE readers, why I decided to buy them, and how I used them.&nbsp; A wise and fair-minded Australian, she noted that I am "obviously an experienced and dedicated literacy teacher."&nbsp; That being so much better than the "self-important <em>Gickeleshut</em> wearing <em>Fanfarrón</em>" I'm always getting in those angry emails from Europe, I decided to answer her right away.</p> <p>Sadly, I had no idea how I came across the Aussie readers.&nbsp; I'm guessing I saw them in a <em>Grass Roots Press</em> catalogue circa 2007-2008.&nbsp; Nor do I remember exactly why I decided to buy them, except that I used to specialize in helping adults with very low literacy levels, and I was always looking for more resources for individual or group reading.</p> <p>As for how I use them: I use them eighteen ways from Sunday.&nbsp; I use them in group reading (each learner taking a page).&nbsp; I use them in one-on-one reading.&nbsp; I leave them behind as part of home visits.&nbsp; I lend them to teens and adults from the bookwagon or storytent - sometimes people I don't help in any other way. I use them for a quick self-assessment of reading level ("Sort these books into three piles: too easy; too hard; just right").&nbsp; I use the text in cloze exercises and 'choose the right verb tense' exercises.&nbsp; I use them a lot, and I value the sheer number of titles PRACE has on offer.</p> <p><a href="http://pageturners.prace.vic.edu.au/book-5-3-tracy.php"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="s05-cyclone-cover-pageturners" alt="s05-cyclone-cover-pageturners" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-HTIj7_moIkM/T8LTAprbxbI/AAAAAAAAFx0/vswR5qo2c_U/s05-cyclone-cover-pageturners%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="179" height="240"></a></p> <p>My researcher friend asked about a comment I'd made about the narrative tense used in the elementary readers; specifically contrasting the <em>Pageturners</em>' use of past tense with the <em>Grass Roots Press</em> use of present tense.&nbsp; I replied:</p> <blockquote> <p>The first low-level stories I worked with came from <em>Grass Roots Press</em> (Canada). Their books are all written in the present tense. PRACE gave me an assortment of books written in the past tense, which provided something new and different, as well as balance. But, more than that, it gave learners the chance to see things written in the tense that - in my perception - we most often use in journaling or writing notes and letters. (Think about the classic back-to-school writing assignment: how I spent my summer vacation.)</p></blockquote> <p>Later, I recalled that the <em>Pageturners</em> also mix up narrative voice, writing stories in both the first and third person.&nbsp; <em>GRP Readers</em> are only written in the third person.</p> <p><a href="http://pageturners.prace.vic.edu.au/book-5-1-runboats.php"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="s05-runboats-cover-pageturners" alt="s05-runboats-cover-pageturners" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-yTbkcWfR0xs/T8LTBJVmSbI/AAAAAAAAFx8/C7ivqf1dLu8/s05-runboats-cover-pageturners%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="173" height="240"></a></p> <p>My correspondent told me the latest PRACE <em>Pageturners</em> collection (<em>Series 5</em>) uses a mix of past and present tense in the level 1 stories.&nbsp; That's interesting.&nbsp; It's also a reminder (to me) that I haven't picked up any readers from that series.&nbsp; My discretionary spending on adult learning materials over the past year has all gone into GED-prep level materials - a sign of how the focus of my paid work has shifted.&nbsp; In any case, I was pleased to hear PRACE was providing stories in both past and present tense.&nbsp; It's hard to imagine what it would be like, but a collection of writings using the future tense would also be useful to learners.</p> <p>My last epistolary remark was that I have a whole language, read-in-context, make-learning-functional approach to supporting basic adult literacy.&nbsp; These books offer my learners 'real life' examples of written English, which I judge to be superior to word lists and de-contextualized conjugation exercises.</p> <p>That was a learning for me; that I think of 'reading literature' as 'functional literacy' (and consider stories like <em>What?</em> to be part of the canon of 'literature').&nbsp; But it doesn't surprise me.</p> <p><a href="http://pageturners.prace.vic.edu.au/book-5-2-fire.php"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="s05-fire-cover-pageturners" alt="s05-fire-cover-pageturners" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-CxL9EJUZi0w/T8LTBjABZLI/AAAAAAAAFyE/7QCibmTCRxU/s05-fire-cover-pageturners%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="168" height="240"></a></p> <p>I noticed sometime back that I come to literacy work first and foremost as an ambassador of English written well.&nbsp; I don't mean to say that I write well - I have far too much fun with language to be a good writer.&nbsp; What I mean is I read prose and tell stories and share poetry and tinker with sentences with my learners because I like that kind of thing.&nbsp; I like English.&nbsp; And I like helping other adults discover what a rich and wonderful place written English can be.&nbsp; I'm not interested in fixing people, much less training them.&nbsp; I'm not really interested in <em>that</em> kind of education at all.&nbsp; If they get a job or pass a test or learn to read their phone bill - well, that's nice.&nbsp; But mostly, I want to show them the wonders of a well written sentence.</p> <p>Learn to read, and the whole of English history and philosophy and literature and written dreams of future hope is open to you.&nbsp; I like the <em>Pageturners</em> because they are one part of a tradition and treasury I have found easy and pleasant to share.</p> <p><a href="http://pageturners.prace.vic.edu.au/book-5-4-simpson.php"><img style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto" title="s05-simpson-cover-pageturners" alt="s05-simpson-cover-pageturners" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-3JobWo40A2Y/T8LTCR8ceZI/AAAAAAAAFyM/fIDH5_KQ-zc/s05-simpson-cover-pageturners%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="176" height="240"></a></p> Wendell Drydenhttps://plus.google.com/109576931040478308525noreply@blogger.com2